City Sues Man for Canceling Trash Service

Examiner
Tamara Barak Aparton
January 29, 2008

SAN CARLOS (Map, News) - A man who claims to have reduced his waste to nearly nothing out of concern for the environment now faces a lawsuit from San Carlos for canceling his garbage-collection service.

Eddie House, 53, says he was shocked when he was served with a lawsuit Sunday at his Cedar Street home.

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.

House says he stopped his service with Allied Waste about a year ago after realizing that his garbage cans were nearly always empty.

“It’s just me and my dog, so I don’t have a whole lot of garbage to begin with and I recycle everything,” he said.

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.

Moura said House’s lack of garbage service was brought to the attention of city officials after neighbors complained that House was causing foul smells by burning his garbage.

House acknowledges that the fire department was called to his house several times, but says that each time he was simply burning firewood.

House has made ongoing complaints to city officials over the apartment building next door, which he claims was built too close to his home and generates litter and parking problems. He said he fears that being sued by the city is retribution for being a “sore thumb.”

Moura denied the city’s action was personal.

“We don’t go out looking for these things. When the city does take code enforcement action, it’s usually something that’s brought to our attention by neighbors,” he said.

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  1. Spyder on January 31st, 2008

    Uncle Sam is counting on you to spy on your neighbors…

  2. George on January 31st, 2008

    When a court finds in your favor, stick the city with your bill. It is your right.

  3. Wolf Britain on January 31st, 2008

    He’s an individual! We can’t have that! Conform, conform, conform… Or else!

  4. Ian on January 31st, 2008

    lol, sounds like more greed to me.

    Wake up people.

  5. Freedom on January 31st, 2008

    This is only the beginning of these types of stories. It will cross over into other aspects of life as well, especially if we begin to see silly taxes on “carbon” emissions. A friend of mine, from Oregon, just purchased a piece of land. There is NO house on the land and the water service is not currently in service. There is, however, a city sewer line that is ready to tap into in the event that a home is built on the property. The city sends him a bill for over $40 per month in “sewer” fees…even though there is NO home on his land and he is currently NOT using the sewer line, or any water. If he does not pay this bill they can put a lean on his property. Basically the same type of issue. They get you coming and going. Pitiful!!

  6. Derek on January 31st, 2008

    He might be better off just paying for the empty garbage cans and petitioning the city for a release of his obligation to allied waste. Flouting the law by violating a contract is not the solution. So what if the law is wrong. Get your congressman on your side. Get press coverage before you break the law. Also, tax dollars pay for the fire department. How much money has this one man cost the city, while trying to express concern over the environment? How much is the yearly contract for waste removal? How much does this guy profit on recycling? How much is the court case going to cost? What is the cost of a frivolous lawsuit by the city? Is this an important issue or are there more important things to worry about?

  7. eric on January 31st, 2008

    so what if the law is wrong?????
    profit? how does he do that? picks trash for empties?
    reminds me of our new law here in MA requiring you to buy health insurance. they need more customers i guess. just like the mob. pay me for protection or i break your leg. except it’s ‘legal’ and ‘the law’.

  8. Patriot on January 31st, 2008

    Just bend over and grab your ankles and hope they use KY, or shoot the bastards. Your choice. I choose the latter.

  9. John Lee on January 31st, 2008

    Allied Waste Corp is a $40-billion/year worldwide cartel of Jewish mafiya, with dozens of employees convicted via RICO Act for membership in Gambino and Genovese Mafias, for shaking down World Trade Center with a “Mafia tax on garbage”. WTC garbage fees dropped from $1-million/year to $100,000/year after the arrests of Allied Waste employees. Allied Waste routinely pays half-BILLION antitrust bid-rigging pentalties to US Dept of Justice, since Allied Waste owns both BFI and it’s “competitor” Waste Management.

    Allied Waste owns 10,000 garbage trucks and 10,000 towtrucks, and runs the worldwide cartheft and chopshop rackets with crooked cops and crooked city “govts” (”municpal corporations”), as proven in dozens of class action lawsuits:
    http://piratenews.org/newslinks.html

  10. John Lee on January 31st, 2008

    Allied Waste company BFI got the $3-Billion govt contract to “demolish” the World Trade Center “after” 9/11/2001, and destroy the evidence (and safely ignite/remove the leftover Thermate), just like they did after OK City. BFI’s partner in both contracts was Controlled Demolitions Inc, which has bombed 7,000 govt buildings.

  11. j on February 1st, 2008

    Don’t you see what this is about? Read, if you dare, the IRS Tax Code. Once you are given these types of services (gabage, healthcare, street cleaning, etc.) you are assesed for tax purposes (i.e. income tax). Your income tax is the bill for this stuff. It’s calculated as a percentage of your income (as you all know). Thus, if you opt out of these services then, under the constitution, you cannot be assesed for taxation (i.e. you will not be legally obliged to pay income tax) because your tax contribution will become unapportioned. The city knows it and is trying to make an example of Mr. House so as to ensure that no-one else does the same. Research the issue of the un/constitutionality of the tax code.

  12. Peter A. Sagi on February 1st, 2008

    So exactly who runs that trash collection outfit? Might it be Tony Soprano or one of his buddies?

    Pete

  13. Silent Majority on February 1st, 2008

    I thought this was supposedly a “free” country? How can anyone force an individual to purchase a subscription or a service? Can the government force someone to take public transportation if they have a car? That’s how ridiculous this sounds. I swear Americans are becoming sheep or already are. Conform just to get them off your back? HELL NO! FIGHT BACK…and with a vengeance that will stun them! Speak softly but carry a big stick. F-em.

  14. CARLOS on February 1st, 2008

    THE FACT IS THAT IN 1913 THE FEDERAL RESERVE(A PRIVATE COMPANY) CAME ONLINE AND HAS DESTROYED THE ECONOMY OF THIS COUNTRY. THEN IT WAS THE IRS(CHECK GOOGLE TO SEE WHERE THIS COMPANY IS REGISTERED). PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY THESE TAXES THEY CALL FEDERAL INCOME TAX. HELL NO!, THESE ARE PRIVATE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN DESTROYING THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS AND IT’S POOR.

    CHECK THIS OUT!! IT IS NOT THE LAW TO PAY THESE TAXES!! LOOK IT UP AND FIND THE LAWS!! I DARE YOU TO FIND THEM. YOU WILL NOT!! THEY DO NOT EXIST!! WHY?, CAUSE WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN THEY WILL TELL YOU THEY ARE NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR MONEY CAUSE IT’S NOT THE LAW!!

  15. jdogg92056 on February 1st, 2008

    Does the city have proof that Mr. House agreed to enter into this “contract”? If so, then I guess that’s that; but if, as I suspect there is no proof, then I say Mr. House should simply decline to pay for services he did not contract for. I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that third parties cannot enter into a contract on someones behalf without that someone’s express consent or unless that person provides the third party with power of attorney to enter into contracts on that person’s behalf.

  16. na on February 3rd, 2008

    “The West” is getting worse than the old soviet block.

    I was in a poor city in the Ukraine and everyone burns their leaf litter. The sky in some neighborhoods is black from this, but while the government police may ask you for your passport while you are walking on a public street, they don’t give two shits what you do in your home or “relegate the ownership” of your unborn babies to the new world odor.

    “The West” has become an intolerable place to live. I am sick of hearing of government atrocities everyday against the people. Mass circumcisions, subversion, propaganda, oppression. I can’t live like this anymore.

    America is the most abused and most abusive nation on earth. I would rather die in the most dirty brothel in Thailand than continue to live like this.

    I can’t take it anymore!!!

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