Berkeley, CA Prohibition on Recyclable Poaching
Type: Code
Status: Last updated in 1984
Source File: (missing)
Text:
Berkeley Municipal Code 12.36.070
Collection by unauthorized persons prohibited--Penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person, not otherwise excepted by the provisions of this chapter or as authorized in writing by the City Manager, to collect recycled materials from the curbside in the City. Any person violating any provision or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an infraction as set forth in Chapter 1.20 of this code. (Ord. 5591-NS § 2 (part), 1984: Ord. 5266-NS § 2, 1980: Ord. 4689-NS § 5, 1974) Public Resources Code Section 40100-40201
40100. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this article govern the construction of this division.
40105. "Authorized recycling agent" means a person that a local governing body or private commercial entity authorizes or contracts with to collect its recyclable waste material. An authorized recycling agency may be a municipal collection service, private refuse hauler, private recycling enterprise, or private nonprofit corporation or association.
40120. "Designated recycling collection location" means the place where an authorized recycling agent has contracted with either the local governing body or a private entity to pick up recyclable material segregated from other waste material. "Designated recycling collection location" includes, but is not limited to, the curbside of a residential neighborhood or the service alley of a commercial enterprise
40190. "Segregated from other waste material" means any of the following:
(a) The placement of recyclable materials in separate containers.
(b) The binding of recyclable material separately from the other waste material.
(c) The physical separation of recyclable material from other waste material.
Public Resources Code
Section 41950-41956
41950. (a) No person, other than the authorized recycling agent of the city or county, shall remove paper, glass, cardboard, plastic, used motor oil, ferrous metal, aluminum, or other recyclable materials which have been segregated from solid waste materials and placed at a designated recycling collection location for residential curbside collection programs authorized by a city, county, or local agency for the purposes of collection and recycling.
(b) No person shall be subject to an action for a violation of this section, unless the person knows, or reasonably should know, that the materials would otherwise be collected by the authorized recycling agent for residential curbside collection programs authorized by a city, county, or local agency for the purpose of recycling the materials.
(c) From the time that the recyclable materials specified in subdivision (a) are placed for collection at curbside, for a residential curbside collection program authorized by a city, county, or local agency, the recyclable materials are the property of the authorized recycling agent.
41951. (a) For the purposes of this section, "commercial entity" includes a multifamily residential complex.
(b) Unless otherwise provided by contract, paper, glass, cardboard, plastics, used motor oil, ferrous metal, aluminum, and other recyclable materials, which have been segregated from other waste materials, and placed at the designated recycling collection location by any commercial or industrial entity, shall not be removed by anyone other than the authorized recycling agent.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by contract, from the time that the recyclable materials specified in subdivision (b) are placed at the designated recycling location, the recyclable materials are the property of the authorized recycling agent.
41952. Nothing in this chapter limits the right of any person to donate, sell, or otherwise dispose of his or her recyclable materials.
41953. (a) In any civil action by a recycling agent against a person alleged to have violated Section 41950 or 41951, the court may either allow treble damages, as measured by the market value of the recyclable material removed, or award a civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), whichever is greater, for each unauthorized removal, against the unauthorized person removing the recyclable material.
(b) In any civil action by a recycling agent against a person alleged to have violated Section
41950 or 41951 for a second, or subsequent time, in any 12-month period, the court may either allow treble damages, as measured by the market value of the recyclable material removed, or award a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is greater, for each unauthorized removal against the unauthorized person removing the recyclable material.
41954. Nothing in this article limits the authority of a local agency to adopt or enforce regulations or ordinances on the same matters of this article. However, any ordinance which imposes civil penalties shall be approved by a majority vote of the governing board which has proposed adoption of the ordinance.
41955. If the value of the stolen material is more than fifty dollars ($50), but less than four hundred dollars ($400), a violation of this part may be charged as either a misdemeanor or an infraction. A violation after a second conviction within a 12-month period shall be charged as a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to Section 19 of the Penal Code.
41956. The board may award special enforcement grants to cities or counties to support pilot programs designed to develop and evaluate enforcement techniques to reduce the theft of recyclable materials from commercial, industrial, or other nonresidential establishments.