Saratoga News

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Photograph by George Sakkestad

When Saratoga residents put their trash in curbside recycling bins, they expect Green Valley Disposal to pick it up. But someone is cruising through area neighborhoods and taking the trash before the morning pick-up.

Neighbors talkin' trash about late-night bandit

By Jason Sweeney

In the late hours of the night, a vehicle with its lights turned off silently cruises Saratoga neighborhoods. The driver stops in front of a home and takes glass and plastic out of the recycling bins that were left on the curb.

Bill Pack said neighbors on his street leave their recycle bins on the curb every Sunday evening. Before the trucks from Green Valley Disposal arrive in the morning, someone has already taken the recyclables from the bins.

"They are doing it under the cover of darkness," said Pack. "Someone scours the entire neighborhood and removes all the glass and much of the plastic from the recycle bins. They are emptying an enormous amount of stuff. It's like clockwork. They're diligent, I'll give them that."

Evan Baker, who lives on a different street, said the same thing is happening in his neighborhood. "It's been happening on our street for a year or more. I don't think most people care. The only concern I have is that you have an individual going through neighborhoods in a car in the middle of the night with his or her lights out."

Both Pack and Baker said they have privacy concerns with someone driving through their neighborhoods in the middle of the night and going through their recycle bins and trash cans. Although Pack said he is concerned about identity theft, he hasn't seen any paper taken from his bins before the Green Valley truck arrives in the morning.

"They take all the glass and take at least three-quarters of the plastic," Pack said. "A couple times, there's been detritus from my garbage left on the street."

Capt. John Hirokawa, from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, said there were complaints about stolen recyclables two years ago but nothing lately. "When this has been done in the past, we try to discourage the person and have them move on," he said.

"You have no expectation of privacy when you put your garbage at the curb," Hirokawa warned. "That's why we tell people to shred their stuff."

Aaron Johnson, the Green Valley Disposal district manager for Santa Clara County, said people who take recyclables from bins cost his company money. He said not only are high-value glass and plastics being taken from bins in Saratoga, but also in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Campbell and San Jose.

"It's a real bad problem," Johnson said. "Sometimes they take the whole darn bin and then we have to replace it. I would guess 20 to 25 bins are taken a week.

"Basically, that material is ours. When it's not there, we don't get the rebate for the recyclable goods. It's taking revenue from us that goes to cover the cost of our service. All we're left with is the paper that they don't want."

Johnson said that some weeks are worse than others and that it is hard to know if recyclables have been taken. If there is nothing on the curb, sometimes his drivers will assume residents have not left anything out.

Johnson urged residents to call the police if they believe someone is going through their trash cans and recycle bins. "We don't know who's doing it. It happens during the night hours when we're not around. Ultimately, it's up to the residents to call the police if they see or hear something during the night hours."

Hirokawa said he would keep an eye out for Saratoga's recycle bandit and maybe have a deputy make contact on the night before trash day.