Is it legal to search through a person's trash once they have thrown it away?

Question

The apartment managers at my complex are searching thru trash bags that were not thrown IN the bins (they were sitting outside the bins and the bins were completely empty. People are lazy and dont want to take the time to open the bins to put the trash in there) so they can send them a warning letter, and/or fine. Is that legal in California?

TOWANDA: youre an idiot. Im NOT the lazy person, I ALWAYS THROW MY TRASH IN THE BINS, SO SHUT THE HELL UP. HOW DARE YOU!!

TOWANDA: youre an idiot. Im NOT the lazy person, I ALWAYS THROW MY TRASH IN THE BINS, SO BITE ME!

For anyone that is curious, I am asking because I am curious so that if I see , ppl being lazy, I can warn them as well that their trash WILL be looked through if they dont follow rules and put it in the bin like they are supposed to.

Answer 1

Yes. The Supreme Court says that a citizen does not have privacy in their trash once they have thrown it out. Here, you apartment manager can go though the trash.

Answer 2

Ah, the fine art of dumpster diving. There is actually a fairly new law against going through people's trash in New Hampshire (which was designed to protect people's privacy from cops snooping through their discarded paperwork without a warrant, but it applies to everybody else too), and perhaps a few local communities may ban it as well. But generally speaking, any refuse you put out by the curb becomes completely public domain and anybody has a right to take it as long as you don't make a mess. Some towns make it specifically illegal to go through recycle bins, but not through trash cans (beats me as to why). Keep in mind, that if the trash is on private property, you cannot legally go through it without the owner's permission because then that would be trespassing. Recently I was walking my dog, and I came across a discarded aquarium on the street which was in perfectly good shape and I took it. Some old lady saw me and came out of the house and started screaming bloody murder at me. It doesn't make sense to me why people are so protective of their trash - if you still want it, then why would you throw it out? Anyhow, even in most situations where it isn't legal, it's very unlikely you'll get in trouble for it if you're polite and leave immediately if somebody objects so I wouldn't worry. But consider this a warning - if you can go through other people's trash, they can go through yours. Always shred any personal or confidential documents. *EDIT* Yes, any type of trash is fair game (not counting the above exceptions I mentioned). Anything from a discarded stereo or computer laying out on the ground, to a handful of orange peels and coffee grounds in the can itself, if that's what floats your boat :-)

Answer 3

I don't know if the person who says that the law in California protects your trash is right or not, but even if they are I doubt the law would apply in this case. The people searching the trash are the owners of the trash receptacle. They let you use it but if you don't want them to look at your garbage you don't have to use the dumpster.

Answer 4

Why do you care? Are you the lazy person? Do you think if you throw your trash out somewhere so that someone else has to pick it up, that you have some rights to privacy? I'll bet they have the right to find out who is dumping and that probably is illegal. You're lucky they're not calling the police.

Answer 5

With the identity laws that are out,it is no longer legal to look through peoples trash.

Answer 6

I think once your trash is off of your property, or in this case out of your apartment, it can be looked through and stuff.

Answer 7

there is no constitutional "reasonable expectation of privacy" in garbage that is discarded to be hauled away. thats the constitutional standard that the government actors (ie. police) have to live up to- thats why if they find evidence of wrongdoing against you in your garbage, they can probably use it against you legally. not that thats what is going on here but basically bc there is no expectation of privacy, a civilian can 'dumpster-dive' freely....especially if the garbage is not on your personal property anymore (ie. its on the curb).

Answer 8

I don't see why it would be illegal.