Government Law
City Sues Man For Canceling Trash Pickup Service
Posted Jan 31, 2008, 04:49 pm CST
By Molly McDonough
The city of San Carlos, Calif., is suing one of its residents—an avid recycler—because he's no longer in need of the city's garbage-collection service.
Served with the lawsuit at his home on Sunday, 53-year-old Eddie House told the San Francisco Examiner that he was shocked by the suit.
“I don’t understand a city ordinance that requires you to fill up a can. That’s downright foolishness,” he's quoted saying.
Indeed, the suit, which was filed Jan. 22 in San Mateo County, seeks a permanent injunction that would force House to maintain garbage service. The municipality requires residents to contract with a waste company for regular pickup.
But House told the paper that he no longer needs the service because he doesn't create a lot of waste and he recycles everything else at a recycling center. House also reportedly shreds, pulverizes or gives away everything else.
Neighbors first alerted the city because they said he was burning trash. House claims he was burning firewood.