ABOUT GUARDING TRASH
On March 9, Fast Facts (So SoCal, by Allison Cohen) addressed the subject of trash scavengers, the people who steal recyclable trash.
You reported that the “neighborhoods hardest hit by trash scavengers” include Brentwood and Bel-Air. In what sense are these neighborhoods hard hit? Is it because some people unable to earn enough money by other means take the newspapers and empty soda bottles from the residents’ trash cans?
You note also that projected losses due to trash scavengers are expected to decline next year, thanks, in part, to “stepped-up police enforcement.” Do we really want to divert more police resources to stopping the poorest of our citizens from trying to make enough money to support themselves and their families?
Jeffrey R. Bernstein
Venice
*
Referring to the trash scavengers:
*Estimated yearly trash “thefts” in the cities of Tehachapi and California City: None.
*Penalty for stealing recyclable trash: Not necessary.
*Estimated revenue lost in 1995 to illegal scavenging: None.
*Projected losses 1996-97: None. Garbage cops not needed.
*East Kern County neighborhoods hardest hit by trash scavengers: None.
*Estimated Tehachapi/California City businesses and residents who recycle: 100%.
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and candidate Tom Hayden are welcome to visit and see how it’s done.
Gerald Lee Palmer
Tehachapi
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