# 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:** 2
**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, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/21 "2023-11-26T03:49:30Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Could it be that when the lawyers looked at the actual law, they decided she had no case? That or they told her it would cost $150,000+ to take to court and dominate her life for the next several years and she decided composting didn’t generate enough money for her to be bothered. ---
**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, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/22 "2023-11-26T03:52:53Z")
Sure. There are infinite possibilities. But yours is based on the same nothing mine is based on. Here’s another. Lawyers are taking her case and told her not to talk to the media while they put it together. Not being Trump, she actually listened to her lawyers. Maybe we should move this to the Game Room. ---
**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, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/23 "2023-11-26T03:59:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Could it be that when the lawyers looked at the actual law, they decided she had no case? Does that mean that they looked at the case, and found that the law gives the County ownership of garbage not yet put out for collection? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/24 "2023-11-26T04:01:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > “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.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LEy0T4czKx4/maxresdefault.jpg "Brazil (1985) Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Bob Hoskins, Ian Holm HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEy0T4czKx4&t=3m20s) Stranger ---
**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, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/25 "2023-11-26T04:07:53Z")
Also this (just watch the first minute or so…get gruesome further in): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Sp-pU8TFsg0/hqdefault.jpg "Monty Python - The Meaning of Life Live Organ Transplants") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-pU8TFsg0&t=12/) ---
**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, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/26 "2023-11-26T04:19:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Does that mean that they looked at the case, and found that the law gives the County ownership of garbage not yet put out for collection? Beats the hell out of me. I don’t know the wording of the complete law that we saw a paragraph of. I don’t know how that law fits within the full set of laws in Palm Beach County. I don’t know the case law that exists there about waste. I don’t know what Florida state law has to say. Or what the Florida state courts have decided. And neither does anyone else in this thread. What I do know - and am absolutely certain of - is that no one can judge whether the law is being abusive from hearing the complainant vent on television. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. Jump to all the conclusions you want. I’m sitting this one out. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/27 "2023-11-26T13:44:07Z")
[The full story](https://www.letitrot.org/about-3) PBC incinerator has nothing better to do than pick on a worm farmer who collects compostible materials from food banks etc to feed their worms. They sell the casings for fertilizer. They are exempt from the law that does state where the county trash goes. Should the waste to energy incinerator kick back any dollars to residents since they’re using their trash. ---
**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, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/28 "2023-11-26T17:57:46Z")
How can it be “the full story” when it’s just her side? That’s no better than the people who listen only to Trump’s side of the story and make their decisions then and there. We use thousands of words to mock them here, but suddenly when we like a person who’s accusing the government of making false charges we’re all in. The law doesn’t work that way. The full story requires both sides and a judge to parse the law. Always. Not just when we dislike the defendant. ---
**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, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/29 "2023-11-26T18:20:56Z")
We know that her composting business was shut down. Now, that in itself could have many possible explanations: Maybe she was doing something dodgy with her taxes, maybe she was selling her fertilizer as safe to use with food crops but didn’t do whatever she needed to do to establish it was safe, maybe she was subjecting her workers to inhumane conditions. If that were all we knew, then “wait and see” would be the correct stance. But that’s not all we know. We’ve also seen the letter the county sent her explaining why she was shut down. And the reason given in that letter, that we’ve seen, is authoritarian crap. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/30 "2023-11-26T18:46:21Z")
Florida Man is in trouble! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/31 "2023-11-26T18:53:06Z")
You know, I bet the real story is the county owns the trash is a law to prevent vagrants from picking through other people’s trash. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/32 "2023-11-26T18:54:26Z")
Maybe it’s authoritarian crap. Or maybe not - this is what is on the Let It Rot website , > In the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, put forth by the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County and adopted into law in 2006, Rule V, Section 6, Point 1 “All solid waste generated within the county is the property of the Authority and must be delivered to an Authority Solid Waste Management Facility, or a Designated Disposal Facility.” This essentially claims that Let it Rot is running an illegal waste processing site and is stealing from the Solid Waste Authority. I couldn’t find the letter in the video, only a part where the rules are shown, including the part on the LIR website. This does not describe the county as claiming the trash is theirs , whether it’s in your house or at the curb. Even Let It Rot claims that the Authority is claiming that Let It Rot is an illegal waste processing site. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t - but that’s very different from 'we own your trash whether it’s at the curb or in your house." which implies that I cannot use my own household trash to compost in my yard. And if they are claiming LIR is an illegal waste processing site, they aren’t saying I can’t compost _my_ waste in _my_ yard. They’re saying I can’t collect other people’s waste , which is very different. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/33 "2023-11-26T20:17:17Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > 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 Everywhere I’ve lived, paying for trash pickup hasn’t been a choice, it’s been paid for by my taxes. Not sure if that makes a difference in your argument or not. ---
**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, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/34 "2023-11-26T20:29:55Z")
Here, it’s a private company. We pay them to pick up our trash and recycling every two weeks. It’s either that, or pay the same company to use their dump and take it there ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/35 "2023-11-26T22:30:51Z")
Even when run by the municipality, I’ve lived places where you pay by the load (sticker for can or bag) or you buy an annual sticker for your can. I bought them at the grocery store IIRC. I wonder about the finances, ownership, and incentives here. The waste to energy operators I’ve met tell me they lose money on the electrons (baseload electricity is lowest value) but make up for it in “tipping fees”. I.e. a per load charge. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/36 "2023-11-26T23:20:28Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Maybe it’s authoritarian crap. Or maybe not - this is what is on the Let It Rot website They’ve accurately quoted the relevant provision: > [@](#): > > **Section 6. STANDARDS FOR SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND CONTAINERS** > > 1. All Solid Waste generated in the County is the property of the Authority, and must be delivered to an Authority Solid Waste Management Facility, or a Designated Disposal Facility. There are provisions to obtain haulage permits; don’t know what the requirements are for a “Designated Disposal Facility”. Those are the sorts of things that municipalities typically do regulate, to keep trash and waste properly contained. If someone is operating a business with rotting solid waste, there could well be health concerns, or pollution issues (emissions, either smells or into the water table), that a municipality might want to regulate. It does sound like an expropriation, however. No idea why the property clause is included; would have thought it would be sufficient to say: 1. All Solid Waste generated in the County ~~is the property of the Authority, and~~ must be delivered to an Authority Solid Waste Management Facility, or a Designated Disposal Facility. This section is at p. 5 of this link: [https://swa.org/DocumentCenter/View/339/Rule-5-Solid-Waste-Collection-and-Disposal?bidId=](https://swa.org/DocumentCenter/View/339/Rule-5-Solid-Waste-Collection-and-Disposal?bidId=) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/37 "2023-11-26T23:36:46Z")
I suspect it was poorly written , but there’s this part > The Authority has adopted and implemented its Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan (“Plan”), designed to comply with the planning and resource recovery elements of Chapter 403 Florida Statutes and Chapter 62 Florida Administrative Code, which > prescribes the programs, facilities and processes through which Solid Waste is managed within the Authority’s jurisdiction. > 3. The Board finds that diversion of Solid Waste from the Authority’s system in violation of Chapter 2001-331, Laws of Florida (the “Act”) results in Solid Waste generated in Palm Beach County being managed and disposed of in a manner inconsistent with the Plan; So you’d have to find that Act (which I couldn’t) to see what the diversion of solid waste in violation of that act means. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/38 "2023-11-26T23:39:02Z")
It’s here: [https://laws.flrules.org/2001/331](https://laws.flrules.org/2001/331) A 22 page law that relies heavily on wall of text. I’ve not got any inclination to try to wade through it. Not the statutory drafting style I’m used to reading. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/39 "2023-11-26T23:41:33Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > > [@Lancia](#): > > > > 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 > > Everywhere I’ve lived, paying for trash pickup hasn’t been a choice, it’s been paid for by my taxes. Not sure if that makes a difference in your argument or not. I’ve also never had a choice. I’ve lived places where the government hires people to come around and pick up the trash (and the cost is embedded in my taxes) and i currently live in a place where i can bring my trash to the town recycling and disposal center for “free” (posts for by taxes) or i can hire a third party to haul away my trash. Or some of both. But my town is obviously not laying claim to my garbage. I compost some, bring some to their facility, and hire a company that comes by once a week and takes most of my trash to a different facility from what the town runs. ---
**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, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704/40 "2023-11-26T23:53:34Z")
In the Chicago area (suburbs) we hired private garbage collectors (although there is really little to no choice…one company seems to dominate an area). In Chicago itself I think the city does it (Bureau of Sanitation). When living in multi-unit housing (apartments/condos) this is paid in your monthly assessment. I don’t think it is in the taxes (not sure though). My sense is organized crime runs these garbage companies (around here). That’s not to say you have a problem doing business with them…they run like any other company. Just don’t try to start competing with them by starting your own garbage collection company. From their perspective they are happy if there is less garbage to pick-up. If you want to make use of your garbage that’s fine with them…less to haul away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-beach-county-owns-your-trash/993704.md?page=3)