BREA, Calif. (KABC) — The city of Brea issued a warning on social media last week over trash bin violations and said randomly selected addresses can have their trash cans checked.
A photo posted on the city’s official Instagram page shows a city worker checking someone’s trash cans.
The city said monitoring trash is mandated by state law under Senate Bill 1383, which “requires the city to annually monitor all streams of containers (residential and commercial) to randomly selected addresses on each waste hauler route to observe and document if there is contamination from the disposed contents.”
The city said contamination happens when materials are incorrectly placed in the wrong container.
“A few examples of contamination include putting a plastic bag in the recycle container, food in the trash container, and an aluminum can in the organics container,” said the city.
The city said those checking the trash bins are city staff members or waste hauler staff members that wear safety vests.
“Field auditors will notate information such as if a container was set out for service (or not set out for service), how full the containers are, and if contamination is found,” the city said.
If you put trash in the wrong bin, an “OOPS!” tag will be placed on the container explaining what was incorrect.
Violators could be assessed fees starting at $50.
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