Troy ordinance targets salvage New ordinance intended to give police powers for citing dumpster divers

During their regular meeting Feb. 20, the Troy City Council had a first reading of a new ordinance that is intended to deal with people removing items from the green bins site on St. Regis Haul Road.

The ordinance was one of two the council was scheduled to have a first reading of Feb. 20, but the second -- related to changes to the sewer policy -- was tabled until the Wednesday, March 20 meeting, as it is still pending legal review by City Attorney Cliff Hayden.

Ordinance 2019-761, which did have a first reading, deals with the disposal of solid waste within the city of Troy.

It introduces a measure prohibiting anyone from dumping waste in the city outside of a designated container. This would include activities such as leaving large items outside of the green bins at the St. Regis Haul Road site.

In addition, the new ordinance addresses removing or searching through solid waste. That doesn’t just include things placed in the green bins. The ordinance includes, “any solid waste or liquid placed for collection at a solid waste disposal site, including but not limited to curbsides, alleyways, parking lots, streets, green boxes and other disposal sites.”

Prior to the ordinance, Troy Police had no city code under which to cite those who rummage through the green boxes in search of items, oten leaving garbage strewn around the exterior of the bins.

Further on, the ordinance also covers removing items from the containers for recyclable materials, though it permits the person who placed an item in one of the bins to retrieve it.

“The whole point is to give our police something to go by,” said Mayor Dallas Carr during the initial discussion of the ordinance at a work meeting Feb. 13.

Carr said that he has tried to talk to people who were dumping items from the green bins out onto the ground, and knows other have as well, but asking people to stop has not netted any results so far.

The town had previously explored whether there were any existing ordinances under which police could cite people for salvaging from the green bins, such as a county ordinance.

Carr said that passing a town ordinance settles the matter, and the the Troy Police Department personnel were all very positive about having authority by which to cite those trashing the green bin site.