trash--incoming and outgoing

[quincy]

I will not confront them! THEY look as if they need the potential money from recyclable items for gas in their truck and food for themselves. Maybe someday they will find a curio that somebody discarded, accidentally or otherwise, and strike it rich. Most importantly, I doubt that they care 1 iota about the Greenwood decision or LA code 66.28 or have the intelligence to understand the nuances of either of them

Very few people think about most laws at all, until they are faced with violating one.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

I’ve seen antiques worth thousands of dollars on ‘Antiques Roadshow’ allegedly found in trash cans or a dumpster. Nothing mentioned about the legality. Although the right thing to do is put it back.

 

[quincy]

I’ve seen antiques worth thousands of dollars on ‘Antiques Roadshow’ allegedly found in trash cans or a dumpster. Nothing mentioned about the legality. Although the right thing to do is put it back.

Nothing is mentioned about the legality probably because it is not illegal to take what you find from roadside trash, absent any ordinance to the contrary.

 

[rigaton]

Very few people think about most laws at all, until they are faced with violating one.

HYSTERICAL AND TRUE

 

[commentator]

What I keep thinking of in this scenario is the criminal investigators busily going through someone's trash to get DNA samples to convict them of a 40 years ago crime.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

What I keep thinking of in this scenario is the criminal investigators busily going through someone's trash to get DNA samples to convict them of a 40 years ago crime.

Maybe why some people say they can smell a cop a mile away.

If the someone was a suspect 40 years ago they would have already been convicted with manufactured evidence. “The difference between a good investigator and a great investigator is; a good investigator finds convicting evidence and a great investigator manufactures convicting evidence.” Quote: from a New York State police ID unit investigator before he (and others) was caught faking evidence, lying under oath and serving a term in state prison.

 

[quincy]

What I keep thinking of in this scenario is the criminal investigators busily going through someone's trash to get DNA samples to convict them of a 40 years ago crime.

The surreptitious collection of DNA from curbside trash certainly has raised some privacy concerns that were not addressed by the Supreme Court in the Greenwood case.

Most trash is discarded intentionally. The one who discards the trash at the curb loses all ownership rights and privacy rights in it. With DNA, however, no one intentionally discards it. That is why the ACLU and the EFF are fighting for the need for warrants to collect DNA for testing, even if the DNA is collected from discarded items in roadside trash.

There has been less of a call to limit law enforcement’s ability to test DNA collected in the trash because of the importance this testing has had in solving cold cases and in identifying serial killers like the Golden State Killer, the man suspected of killing the four students in Moscow, Idaho, and the Gilgo Beach murderer, among others.

I can see both the benefits of and the problems with collecting DNA from trash. I think it is probably time for the Supreme Court to revisit Greenwood and reconsider the dissenting opinions.

 

[rigaton]

I guess that I asked a thought-provoking question with serious ramifications. THE issue of taking FROM trash seems to be vastly more important in today's society than the placing of garbage in somebody else's receptacle.

 

[quincy]

I guess that I asked a thought-provoking question with serious ramifications. THE issue of taking FROM trash seems to be vastly more important in today's society than the placing of garbage in somebody else's receptacle.

There is very little that is left in our lives that can be considered “private.” Even privacy rights we once thought of as untouchable have been and are being challenged today in state legislatures across the country and in the courts. Collecting DNA from discarded trash is just one of several privacy concerns but it is not the one that is likely to affect the most people.

But you are right. Having someone place additional trash in your garbage can is not of greatest importance, all things considered.

 

[FarmerJ]

Some trash collectors will provide padlocks they the trash collector has a master key and you will have a key as well so ASK your Trash collector if they have one , a lock would end your concern about anyone but the trash collector

 

[quincy]

For residential customers, there might be trash cans with gravity locks available (for a price) but locks are often available for commercial or business trash receptacles.

 

[adjusterjack]

I’ve seen antiques worth thousands of dollars on ‘Antiques Roadshow’ allegedly found in trash cans or a dumpster. Nothing mentioned about the legality. Although the right thing to do is put it back.

I knew somebody that that actually happened to and made a ton of money years later off the discarded items.

 

[quincy]

I knew somebody that that actually happened to and made a ton of money years later off the discarded items.

One of my friends is a successful “trash artist.” He creates amazing sculptures from items discarded in trash. He would not like LA.

Upcycling - finding new uses for old items - is an alternative to recycling and is a good way to keep some trash out of landfills and can be a good way to clean up the environment.