Stashing Trash

Constant Readers,

For an apartment-dweller like me, actually living in a place that has its own trash cans is a reflection of unimaginable wealth akin to having a helicopter landing pad on your roof. Which is to say: I do not have firsthand knowledge of the responsibilities that come along with having trash bins in San Francisco.

But I have read Article 5, Sec. 170 of the SF Public Works Code. Hopefully, I therefore have enough street cred to write about the recent uproar over the fact that the Department of Public Works (DPW) is reportedly issuing $100 tickets to people who fail to follow rules governing trash bins in SF.

So far as I can tell, this all started with an article by Matier and Ross (whom I read religiously) in Monday's Chronicle. In that article, the duo discuss the spate of new trash tickets and state: "existing law...requires cans to be off the sidewalk by 6 p.m. on pickup days."

And everyone ran with it. 

Commenters on SFist were livid! (Who the hell gets home from work by 6 p.m.?!) KCBS even reported the 6 p.m. "rule." Supervisor Dufty, at yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting called for a hearing on (among other things) "fairness regarding [the garbage receptacle] ordinance requirements that toters be removed by 6 p.m. even for people who work late." (Video at 3:12.) (Note: Only a government employee would call working past 6 p.m. "late.")  

Prollem is: there ain't no such requirement in the law.

The "Garbage Receptacles" law at Article 5, Sec. 170(a)(2) of the SF Public Works Code says:

Any person, firm, or corporation occupying or having charge of any residential premises shall remove any such receptacles from the sidewalk, street, or other dedicated public right-of-way within twenty-four (24) hours after placing said receptacles out for collection and after the contents of the said receptacle have been collected.

So, where did the "6 p.m." part come from? The law prohibits persons from putting their receptacles out "after the hour of 6:00 p.m. of the day immediately prior to the day of said collection." (Sec. 170(a).)

To recap: If your trash is picked up on Wednesday morning, you can't put the cans out before 6 p.m. on Tuesday. If you put the trash bins out on Tuesday at 11 p.m., you don't have to bring them in until 11 p.m. on Wednesday.

Obviously, the DPW is not going to go around monitoring when each person on a street puts their cans out. So, what they do is wait until 6 p.m. the day after pickup (in our hypothetical, that would be Thursday at 6 p.m.) to place people's trash cans under arrest for trespassing.

So, enough hysterics about the workin' man and the mythical "6 p.m. rule". Matier and Ross got it right when they focused on the real issue: the feasibility of "hiding" trashcans where space is limited.

Though, according to page 4 of the DPW Guidelines (see pic on right) a blanket and a couple of sticks will do.

Surely anyone with a helicopter landing pad can manage that.

--Melissa   

Comments

[PN]

Thank you so much for clarifying that! The comments on SFist were driving me crazy!

I hope that the City continues to enforce this, but not because I don't like looking at trash cans (they're quite lovely actually). Rather, having them accessible to the street encourages daily pilfering by the scavengers.

What I'd really like to see is citations for the people in trucks raiding the recycling the night before collection. 1) Get the hell out of my trash. 2) Who is paying them? Is it Sunset Scavenger or is it taxpayers? Or is it both? Regardless, it's theft.

[Be_Devine]

I love it when you talk trash.

[jeff nalle]

It's all about the trash in SF. That, and the manatee/cloaca connection in Midgen's CIA profile.

[Greg]

so funny that the city of Ess Eff is so worried about their precious recycling being stolen by the CHUDs that they had to get John Law on everyone to protect their freakin' CRVs.....omg!

[SFCitizen]

It could be worse. They could just cut you out of service altogether. Plans are afoot.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/us/07garbage.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin