According to the City of Santa Monica, yes. They are well known for their double standards: pretending to be a liberal "People's Republic" while being on the take with big corporations, and not giving a damn about the local community.
This weekend's SMDP (page 17) reports that "Taking recyclables out of city-owned bins is illegal, subjecting those caught to a $500 fine as well as six months in jail." Isn't calling people going through trash cans thieves and criminals pushing it a little far? If things are in trash cans, people have discarded them, right? You would think that homeless people going through trash cans, for recycles they can sell to make a meager living, would do the community a service: clearing the overflown cans, while making enough cash so they don't have to beg for food at every street corner. Not in this "beautiful" city, apparently.
The SMDP quotes a resident named Scott, who complains about being woken up by homeless rummaging through his cans: "He is concerned about the tax dollars spent on recycling programs and how much of that is wasted when people steal." Steal? As one of the homeless mentions in the article, when he is lucky (putting some hard work collecting recyclables,) he can fetch $20-30 a day, which buys him food and saves him from panhandling. I call it work, as opposed to sitting in a passive mode begging for money.
Yet, Santa Monica City Hall's solid waste supervisor Wes Thompson "Urges people not to make it easy for the recycling thieves [thieves?!] That means don't bag your recyclables and set them on top of on the side of the bin." I'm having a strong metaphysical disonnance with such "ethics." I know this country is more about individuality than solidarity, but how about giving those forced to live on the streets a break -- especially if they work for a living?
modified illustration from SMDP
