# Palm Beach County owns your trash **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704 "2023-11-26T01:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/1 "2023-11-26T01:08:44Z")
Well, maybe not _your_ trash; but residents’ trash. > **[County shuts down woman’s thriving small business for infuriating reason: ‘I...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/county-shuts-down-woman-thriving-213000893.html/)** > > She launched a Change.org petition, which you can sign to ask the county to reconsider its policy. > Palm Beach County, Florida, is making commercial worm composting illegal, saying it owns the rights to residents’ trash. > > Mel Corichi originally founded her worm farm and community composting business,[L](https://www.letitrot.org/about-3)[e](https://www.letitrot.org/about-3)[t](https://www.letitrot.org/about-3)[I](https://www.letitrot.org/about-3)[t Rot,](https://www.letitrot.org/about-3) in partnership with the Palm Beach County Food Bank in 2015 to reduce food waste. > > She would feed the food bank’s expired donations to her worms. The worm droppings, or castings, would create fertile soil, which could be utilized as an eco-friendly fertilizer. This is known as vermicomposting… > > “Whether or not it’s on the curb or in your house, if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority.” Sorry. I’m not surrendering my trash until I _say_ it’s surrendered… by putting out at the street. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/2 "2023-11-26T01:32:42Z")
“Florida has become the citadel of freedom.” – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “Whether or not it’s on the curb or in your house, if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority.” _translation: “what we say is ours is ours, even if it’s yours.”_ – actual Florida ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/3 "2023-11-26T01:54:18Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Sorry. I’m not surrendering my trash until I _say_ it’s surrendered… by putting out at the street. I’ve been looking through their website and so far, I haven’t found anything that remotely states (or even implies) they own your trash before it’s set out. No results when I search for “composting”. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/4 "2023-11-26T01:58:01Z")
So help me if the Duchy of Lancaster tries to get their hands on my old pizza boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/5 "2023-11-26T01:59:14Z")
And at what point does it become “trash”? This is stuff that residents didn’t want to get rid of. Effectively, they’re saying that there’s no such thing as private property. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/6 "2023-11-26T02:03:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Effectively, they’re saying that there’s no such thing as private property. We’re going to have to nationalize all property. It’s the only way to stop wokeness and socialism. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/7 "2023-11-26T02:05:31Z")
I can’t imagine the Solid Waste Authority winning this in a court case if it ever went that far. As others above have mentioned, who is to say when it becomes “waste” and why does the Solid Waste Authority magically get ownership of it? Seems to run afoul of the fifth amendment’s takings clause. That said, I could see it maybe (no idea) being a zoning violation since it is residential (I think). That’s just speculating though. I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/8 "2023-11-26T02:06:49Z")
I thought that you lose rights to your trash when you put it out for collection every place in the U.S. A quick search tells me only that the Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on the subject except that police can search trash bags without a warrant. Cities have passed a variety of laws concerning ownership of trash. Bottles that have cash value have been deemed the property of cities. The actions of Palm Beach may be loony - we’re talking Florida here - but the principle that garbage is stuff you have released ownership rights to is long-standing, well-established, and widespread. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/9 "2023-11-26T02:09:30Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The actions of Palm Beach may be loony - we’re talking Florida here - but the principle that garbage is stuff you have released ownership rights to is long-standing, well-established, and widespread. Perhaps, but when the county is claiming to own your trash before it becomes trash then we’ve departed abandoned property laws for “all swans that swim in the Thames after the first of May are property of the King” territory. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/10 "2023-11-26T02:10:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The actions of Palm Beach may be loony - we’re talking Florida here - but the principle that garbage is stuff you have released ownership rights to is long-standing, well-established, and widespread. - But in this case, they’re claiming ownership before it’s put out. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/11 "2023-11-26T02:12:11Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority. I know _someone_ who would object to that! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rxgWHzMvXOY/maxresdefault.jpg "Sesame Street: I Love Trash") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxgWHzMvXOY) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/12 "2023-11-26T02:14:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I thought that you lose rights to your trash when you put it out for collection every place in the U.S. So, if I put my trash out on the curb and then realize I threw something out by mistake and pull the trash back in to search for my missing item I am stealing from the government? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/13 "2023-11-26T02:16:19Z")
Read the article closely. It’s the complaining woman who said that “Whether or not it’s on the curb or in your house, if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority.” That has all the legal authority of the comments in this thread. I’ll bet the County never said “in your house.” The County’s statement that “it burns the county’s organic waste to generate electricity that powers 88,000 local homes” fits right it with the authority of cities to generate income from bottles. Again, this issue may seem an overreaction and maybe is. But I’ll still bet that no lawyer from the County is making the argument that they own trash in anyone’s house. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/14 "2023-11-26T02:21:56Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Read the article closely. It’s the complaining woman who said that “Whether or not it’s on the curb or in your house, if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority.” That has all the legal authority of the comments in this thread. I’ll bet the County never said “in your house.” - The linked article has a video of the letter. > **[Palm Beach County business owner's worm and compost operation buried by...](https://news.yahoo.com/palm-beach-county-business-owners-021704475.html)** > > The Worm Queen explains how her college dream turned into an eco-friendly business and closed under after multiple ceases and desist orders from SWA The letter states that all solid waste is the property of The Authority. And the County did shut her down. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/15 "2023-11-26T02:22:39Z")
The Fifth Amendment says, in part: > …_nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation._ Is the government paying people for their trash to use in their incinerator (I bet they sell that electricity generated by burning that trash)? When/how does the government gain property rights to your trash (and for free no less…indeed, the person probably pays to have the trash collected)? ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/16 "2023-11-26T02:30:29Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > …_nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation._ > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > When/how does the government gain property rights to your trash I’m not one of them fancy law-talkin’ guys, but since most municipal trash collection services are something a resident can choose to pay for, does it then become a simple transaction between two parties? If I pay Jerkwater County $50 a month to pick up my garbage from the curb once per week, then the government isn’t “taking” anything – I’m paying them for a service which includes removing my trash from my property. Its a contractual arrangement that I chose to enter into as I’m certainly not required to use their services. Total WAG, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/17 "2023-11-26T02:35:09Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > …does it then become a simple transaction between two parties? If I pay Jerkwater County $50 a month to pick up my garbage from the curb once per week, then the government isn’t “taking” anything – I’m paying them for a service which includes removing my trash from my property. Its a contractual arrangement that I chose to enter into as I’m certainly not required to use their services. Sure. No problem with that at all. I’d say once the garbage is in the truck that collects the trash it is no longer yours. But, I would say that until the garbage is collected it remains my property. I doubt there is a contractual arrangement that you provide some minimum amount of trash to them. I can decide to pull it off the curb and do whatever with it including giving/selling it to my neighbor to compost. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/18 "2023-11-26T02:37:37Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I’ve been looking through their website and so far, I haven’t found anything that remotely states (or even implies) they own your trash before it’s set out. From the article: > That all recently came to a halt, however, when she received a phone call from the county’s Solid Waste Authority telling her that what she was doing was illegal. So the Solid Waste Authority told her that they own her trash, even if it’s not put out for collection. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/19 "2023-11-26T02:40:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > So the Solid Waste Authority told her that they own her trash, even if it’s not put out for collection. - I know, I read the article. But if it’s not specifically stated in the contract (I presume) she signed, then they’re making it up. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/20 "2023-11-26T03:46:47Z")
That video is five minutes of the woman talking and presenting her side of the case. Cases always sound wonderful if only one side gets presented. I’d love to hear five minutes of the County’s lawyers explaining the law. After that I may consider that this odd case is an exception to the general rule. We have no good reason yet to think so, just as the glimpses of the text of the law given provide no good evidence that the county considers the issue one of “waste inside one’s house” rather than disruption to a fixed, defined-in-law waste stream. From working in city government, I learned that the law from the inside looks entirely different than the law from the outside. Courts are the only ones to give judgements. Five minutes of video (what’s the source?) should have sparked a horde of lawyers to her door, but all the articles I can find on this are two months old with nothing newer announcing a suit against the county. Could it be that when the lawyers looked at the actual law, they decided she had no case? I don’t know. I can’t figure out whodunit based on two pages torn out of an early chapter. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704.md?page=2)