Saratoga News

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Residents talkin' trash with cops, disposal company over recyclables

Trash bandits dipping into recycling bins

By Jason Sweeney

It's not only Green Valley Disposal that's taking the bottles and cans from recycle bins put out on the curb once a week. Several people are supplementing their incomes by gathering recyclables from bins in front of homes before the Green Valley trucks arrive in the morning.

Capt. John Hirokawa, of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, said deputies made contact with people taking recyclables from bins during the last week in May. "We've gone out there and stopped a few people," Hirokawa said. "We've identified them. They live in the area. It's more than one person, but they are not working in concert. They are supplementing their incomes."

Hirokawa said deputies took photographs of the recycle bandits, got their addresses, phone numbers and ran background checks.

Recycle bandits are taking bottles and cans from recycle bins in front of homes not only in Saratoga but also throughout Santa Clara County. "Under the law, there's only certain things we can do. What they're doing, technically, could be considered petty theft if we had a victim," Hirokawa said.

Determining a victim is no easy task, Hirokawa explained. The cost of prosecuting someone far exceeds the value of the bottles and cans taken.

Hirokawa said the sheriff's office has made contact with Green Valley Disposal. "At this point, Green Valley only wants people arrested for stealing bins. They are looking into what to do about the cans and bottles."

Saratogans have been taking notice of the people taking recyclables from the bins in front of their homes. Residents have watched as recycle bandits forage through their bins in the middle of the night and in plain sight during the day. The recycle bandits have been sighted on foot and in cars. Neighbors have taken their photographs, taken down license plate numbers and called the police.

When Saratogan Claude Rabier saw a man going through his recycle bin one morning, he went outside and told the man not to take the bottles from his bin. The person drove away only to return later to take the bottles, Rabier said. "I'm concerned because I don't like it."

Rabier said one of his neighbors waits to put his recyclables out until after a recycle bandit has left his street.

"You should always be concerned about suspicious persons and suspicious activities," Hirokawa said, but he added people taking cans and bottles from bins are unlikely to be casing homes for burglaries. "People casing homes tend to be more discreet and do not try to draw attention to themselves.

"The sheriff's office is just as concerned with the casing of homes and with break-ins and a possible criminal motive of people doing this activity. We want people to call if they see any type of suspicious activity or person in their neighborhood. We're going to check them out, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to jail."