Linda Tufano writes:
Seattle trash haulers considered it business as usual when they were told to monitor the trash on their routes for food scraps.However, concerns about privacy rights have created a strong debate in the city as residents dub the ordinance as “trash-snooping.”
“It’s an invasion of privacy,” plaintiff Sally Oljar told NBC’s KING5 TV in Seattle.”We don’t want to get in anyone’s business,” counters Tim Croll, Solid Waste Planning and Program Manager for Seattle Public Utilities. “We want the garbage system to work well.”
The Seattle ordinance went into effect in January, directing residents to put food scraps in the composting with yard waste — not in the trash. Haulers were told to visually inspect trash in transparent containers (or the loose or spilled trash), but not to open garbage bags. If more than 10% of the contents appeared to be food waste or recyclable, a tag was left informing the resident of the violation.
Read more on Metal.com.
Police/DHS are using 200,000 garbage trucks and possibly 300K people to spy on Americans:
“Some trash haulers say the law has shifted their role from customer service to policing.”
“Republic Services drivers will be a neighborhood watch resource by serving as extra and alert “eyes and ears” in the community. ”
“Drivers, supervisors and dispatchers are trained to recognize and report suspicious activities in the communities that they serve.”