You have to make waste

Man reduces waste to nothing, cancels trash pick-up, and city sues. from Planetizen

The lawsuit, filed by San Carlos Deputy City Attorney Linda Noeske in San Mateo Superior Court on Jan. 22, seeks a permanent injunction forcing House to maintain garbage service. City officials are also seeking to recoup from House the costs of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims House broke the city’s municipal code requiring all residential, commercial and industrial properties to contract with Allied Waste for pickup at least once a week — a standard requirement in most cities, San Carlos Deputy City Manager Brian Moura said.

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House recycles paper, metal and plastics, regularly hauling them in his pickup truck to a recycling center and collecting the refund, he said. What little backyard waste he generates is ground into powder by his wood chipper and food scraps are either pulverized by his garbage disposal or eaten by his dog. House’s larger items are either sold or given to people on Craigslist, he said.

“I don’t understand a city ordinance that requires you to fill up a can. That’s downright foolishness,” he said.

His neighbors raised a stink about him raising a stink by burning garbage, but whenever the fire department has come, he was burning firewood. House also says he thinks that the city is getting back at him for complaining about the next door apartment building that causes problems.

I can understand the ordinance for sanitation issues, but why pay for a service you don't use? And the city trying to get the legal costs back out of the man who lives alone with his dog: that's just wrong.