Skip to main content

Trash? Treasure? Dumpster diving issue explored, to be voted on.


Kudos to SHOC for this item in the new [2/26] SN&R ...

An article in SN&R, titled "Trash or treasure?: Sacramento City Council considers ban on Dumpster diving" nicely gets into the back-and-forth on an ordiance revision that will be voted on on March 3 that would further outlaw dumpster diving.

The case FOR the revision is pretty much this:
According to a staff report prepared by the solid-waste division, the revision was proposed in response to increased scavenging, a practice the report says causes littering, attracts animals and pests, leads to the theft of recyclable material and identity theft.

Criminalizing the act benefits public health and safety while preventing crime, states the report.

The case AGAINST the revision is pretty well stated here:
Local community activist Davida Douglas questioned the wisdom of the ordinance, considering that the vast majority of people rifling through garbage reclaim reusable or recyclable items that would otherwise end up in a landfill. In household trash, she’s found dish drainers, clothing, toasters and other small appliances.

“When I first moved to Sacramento, I was unable to secure a full-time job,” Douglas said. “Probably about 50 percent of the food I ate came from Dumpsters. It allowed me to have enough money to continue paying my rent and prevented me from becoming homeless.”
SacHo is not happy about people eating from dumpsters; unless you are very adept at it, you can end up being pretty sick. But the reality today is that a fast-increasing number of people are becoming desperate in this economy. This is no time to push more pain on the most-deperate among us. Mayor, city council members: Vote NO on the ordinance revision.
Update 2/27/09: Here's the Agenda for the 3/3/09 city council meeting. Note that the scavenging ordinance revision is item #14.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More obstacles revealed in effort to make Mather cottages habitable

Mold, asbestos and lead paint, oh my! The 35 cottages out at Mather Community Campus seem closer to being condemned today than ever again being inhabited. But the expectation that some of the cottages can and will be restored to house homeless families before spring abides. A report in the Sacramento Bee tells us ... Some [of the cottages] have extensive mold, a county analysis showed. It's not clear how the county planned to deal with lead paint and asbestos, [Rancho Cordova] Councilwoman Linda Budge said. Still, hope of getting some of the cottages in shape such that homeless families can move in is in play, though not before New Year's day.  Word of where the money might come from to make needed restorations has not been forthcoming, though it is known that the Winter Shelter Task Force hopes to hold a fundraiser to boost the pool of funds to meet the need to keep homeless people warm and safe. At the end of October, placing families, totalling 105 individuals, was
Post a Comment
Read more

Ron Russell and Summerhills Realty

Readers of this blog should be aware that I am receiving some information that Summerhills Realty and someone named Ron E. Russell is using this blog as a reference in an effort to scam homeless people.  Be aware that Mr. Russell and his business is cited as a possible perpetrator of fraud by a website called Ripoff Report .  See this webpage .  Also, there is this claim of fraud against Ron Russell Properties at the website BizClaims - Latest scams, frauds and complaints . Please be aware that the information of being 'ripped off'' may be coming from only one source is coming from multiple sources, with perhaps as many as twelve persons/couples now pursuing legal action after paying thousands of dollars for services and receiving none of the services that were promised/contracted. While I know neither Mr. Russell nor Summerhills, I do know that an inordinate number of “in links” from readers of this blog have come via summerhillsrealestate.com for quite some time.  I
11 comments
Read more

In an act of Collective Punishment, Loaves & Fishes closes its park in the morning on New Year’s Day

Calvin [a "green hat" in Unfriendly Park] makes the argument for continued incompetent management. Hobbes represents me — only, in real life, I don't have that good a coat . In an act of Collective Punishment, Loaves & Fishes closes its park in the morning on New Year’s Day In one respect — and only one — that I can think of, Loaves & Fishes is NOT hypocritical: The management hates the way America is run and wants to turn it into a backward communist country . Consistent with that, Loaves & Fishes’ management runs its facility like a backward communist country. The People’s Republic of Loaves & Fishes. A seemingly minor thing happened on New Year’s Day. A couple of people smoked a joint in Loaves & Fishes’ Friendship Park and one of the park directors, or both of them, determined, at about 10am, that, in retribution, they would punish all the homeless there by closing the park for the day. This is something the managers of the park do all the
7 comments
Read more