February 9, 2009

Feb 10th at 2pm (tomorrow) is the proposed Anti-scavenging Ordinance for the City of Sacramento. Please show up and protest this proposed ordinance.

Hello

This week, in Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council, will decide upon adopting a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to scavenge from the waste receptacles. I believe that this is a wrong direction for the City Council to be putting enforcement of the law. 1) In tough economic times, criminalizing survival methods of the impoverished seems just wrong. Compassion seems more appropriate. 2) Sacramento takes pride in being a "Sustainable City". The passage of this proposed anti-scavenging ordinance encourages landfill waste in that it criminalizes recovery and reuse of another person's trash which could be potentially useful to someone else.

Would you be willing to show up at the Sacramento City Council meeting, 915 I St., on Tuesday, February 10th at 2pm to speak against this draconian measure that would criminalize a survival method for the impoverished and would criminalize a method of recovery and reuse of less-than-new products ?

As background, the city seems to be worried about "identity theft" which they feel is caused by people going through trash. I believe there are better, more effective methods to counter "identity theft" than criminalizing and penalizing homelessness and methods to find and reuse reusable items.

Thank you for your consideration,

Ming
Sacramento Sustainability Action Group




More specific excerpted information is below:

http://sacramento.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=74

"(Pass for Publication) Ordinance Amendment: Scavenging from Solid Waste Receptacles

Location: (Citywide)

Recommendation: 1) Review an Ordinance repealing Section 13.10.160 of the Sacramento City Code relating to the removal of recyclable materials placed for City sponsored program and adding Section 13.10.160 of the Sacramento City Code relating to scavenging from solid waste receptacles; and 2) pass for publication the Ordinance title as required by the Sacramento City Charter 32c to be adopted on March 3, 2009. Contact: Edison Hicks, Integrated Waste General Manager (916) 808-4949, Marty Strauss, Integrated Waste Planning Superintendent (916) 808-4934, Utilities Department."
http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=74&meta_id=169925 021009-11-Scavenging (PDF-340 KB)
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