Lathrop could be the next city in San Joaquin County to prohibit foraging through waste containers.

Possibly.

On Monday the Lathrop City Council discussed the possibility of making it illegal to comb through garbage cans on private or public property searching for items of value – recyclables – after a number of complaints prompted Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal to recommend an ordinance be adopted in-line with what other neighboring cities have done to combat the problem.

But Dhaliwal wasn’t in attendance at Monday’s meeting, and rather that debate an issue that at least two members of the council said that they felt strongly about, the decision of the remaining three – Vice Mayor Steve Dresser and Council members Paul Akinjo and Omar Ornelas – was to continue the item until the group was at full-strength.

The absence of Martha Salcedo from the same meeting would have meant that the decision to adopt would have had to be unanimous, and while Ornelas didn’t tip his hand to where he fell on the item, Akinjo took a compassionate approach.

“When I see individuals foraging I try to take something from home and go give it to them,” he said. “If I have cans and things, instead of having them dig I say that I already have some bags prepared. So I think that it depends on the individual and how they feel about things like that.

“I don’t think that you should be able to make a mess in front of people’s property so I tell them that if I have the bottles they can take them.”

Ornelas said that he respected Akinjo’s feelings but also felt that they might have differences in their approach to what been seen as a problem by residents and didn’t want to be the one to prevent Dhaliwal from making a pitch on the item that he recommended to be placed on the agenda.

“I also have strong feelings about this and I think that you and I would disagree to a certain extent so I would have to not allow some discussion on the issue by someone who referred it because of my individual beliefs,” Ornelas said. “While I may agree with you on many of the things that you have said, I think that I have very strong beliefs as well and should give the Mayor the opportunity to discuss it. I think we should wait.”

According to the draft ordinance prepared for the meeting by the City Attorney, a violation could subject the perpetrator to a fine of not more than $250 if caught in violation.

The regulation spelled out makes an incidence of violation very clear.

“It is unlawful and an infraction for any person other than collector authorized by the city or by the contract to collect solid waste at that location to forage through, open, look into, search through, rummage, tamper with, move, tip, deface or remove any waste container or contents thereof or remove or collect recyclable or salvageable materials placed by any person in a bag or container labeled for the use in connection with the recycling program operated by such collector, or to remove or collect any recyclables or salvageable materials found at any commercial, industrial or city-owned or leased facility within the city.”

Law enforcement officials in the county have commented in the past that discarded junk mail is becoming a revenue generator for those involved with identity theft and fraud – paying flat rates for bags of discarded mail that people don’t open. The City of Manteca is currently testing a program on collection routes that features locked recyclable containers to prevent unauthorized access after it was determined scavengers were dumping garbage on collection days searching for recyclables and leaving trash on the ground creating huge neighborhood messes. The city was also losing money from recyclables that it uses to keep garage collection costs down.

Per Lathrop’s garbage contract, the city receives some money back after collection for recyclables that are processed.