Prosecuted for throwing away trash

[snopes]

Comment: Here is an email I just received. Couldn't find anything
pertaining to the claims made on your website.

My daughter is being prosecuted for going to Burger King for lunch and
taking two mini cereal boxes and a couple of napkins from her car and
placing them in the Berger King trash. They called the State Police on her
and it is an offence which goes on your permanent record. It is considered
house trash. Berger King will not let it go. They want it prosecuted.
How many times have you been on a trip and threw a couple of things in the
trash from your car into the restaurant trash? You can be fined for this
and go to jail if you refuse to pay. They made the State Trooper pull the
little boxes out of the trash for evidence.
It would be nice if all the seniors would go every day and just get their
free coffee.
WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD GET THIS MESSAGE OUT TO ALL IN YOUR
ADDRESS BOOK.

I KNOW THIS LADY AND I'M SURE SHE IS TELLING THE TRUTH. IT HAPPENED IN
PA. I GUESS IT IS A VIOLATION, BUT TO BE ARRESTED FOR IT IS SOMETHING
ELSE. SO, BE CAREFUL AT BURGER KING. THANKS,

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

I heard this too, only it wasn't Burger King.

It was Alice's Restaurant.

[Dr. Dave]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

I heard this too, only it wasn't Burger King.

It was Alice's Restaurant.

So, you can get anything you want, but you cannot leave anything you want.

[Lainie]

Berger King? Is that like McDowell's in Coming to America? Does Mr. Berger get threatening letters from Burger King's lawyers?

Originally Posted by Dr. Dave

So, you can get anything you want

Except Alice.....

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: Here is an email I just received. Couldn't find anything
pertaining to the claims made on your website.

My daughter is being prosecuted for going to Burger King for lunch and
taking two mini cereal boxes and a couple of napkins from her car and
placing them in the Berger King trash. They called the State Police on her
and it is an offence which goes on your permanent record.

(snip)

I GUESS IT IS A VIOLATION, BUT TO BE ARRESTED FOR IT IS SOMETHING
ELSE. SO, BE CAREFUL AT BURGER KING. THANKS,

Two questions. Why were the state police called when this would have been handled by the city or county police? And were in the original story did it say she was arrested?

[annabohly]

Man, I would serving a million years. I always throw the trash away in my car(empty cigarette boxes, soda bottle, used napkin etc) when I go thru thr DT at McD's.

[Keeper of the Mad Bunnies]

Interesting, as I just read something similar on This is True. (Note: Link is only good until the next issue is released).

WHAT A BUNCH OF GARBAGE: While waiting for a restaurant to cook his order, an unidentified man in Wellington, New Zealand, decided to clean out his car. He dropped his trash in a public trash can, got his food order, and left. But city officials sifted through the trash and determined it was "domestic" rubbish, tracked him down since his name and address was on a letter in the bin, and sent him a citation demanding NZ$100 (US$76.50) in fines. "I assumed, incorrectly as it turns out, that as it was a litter bin I was able to put litter in it," the man said. "I was unaware that domestic and non-domestic rubbish were categorized differently." He decided to pay the fine since "lack of knowledge of the law is no excuse. I have learned my lesson: When throwing rubbish in those green bins, do not include any incriminating correspondence." (Wellington Dominion Post) ...And now you know why he didn't want to be identified.

I believe, in general, that it is considered illegal to dispose of household waste in a container belonging to a business. After all, the business has to pay to haul it away and you are utilizing space that is for their waste. However, I find it far-fetched that a business would prosecute for two small cereal boxes. A city official (like the story above) I can see doing something that silly.

James Powell

[Not_Done_Living]

If it wern't for the 3 garbage bins and the 2 recycling bins in my Local Tim Horton's drive through my van would be full of crap.

And it's apparent they expect people to put garbage into them.

Domestic garbage i would think would be more in the line of Garbage from home.. like taking your kitchen garbage and bringing it to the restaurants lot and putting it in there.. not a few travel bits from your vehicle.

[DemonWolf]

If I were dumping trash from home, I would expect a fine. but throwing a few item from the car into the bin does not strike me as wrong. I suppose I could leave it in the parking lot with the "trucker bombs"...

[A Turtle Named Mack]

Even if someone brought is household trash (maybe he missed the pick-up), it would be extremely poor business to have a paying customer arrested for throwing out a moderate amount of household stuff. There is almost never any extra cost since the volume contracted for removal is almost never fully utilized. Of course, throwing out several leafbags full of refuse is abusing the situation, but accommodating a customer - even a potential customer - for moderate amounts is no burden and good business (just like letting a person use the restroom).

[Skeptic]

I remember hearing that in London, (perhaps all UK?) you can be fined for dumping rubbish in those big metal skips that are put beside building sites. It's fair enough if you ask me as those things are expensive to have hauled away. I'm sure they don't mind a few papers, but not bags of stuff or old furniture.

[Keeper of the Mad Bunnies]

While it does not apply in this case (Burger King), some business may have their trash hauled by a recycler. Adding household garbage to a load of paper could make it impossible to recycle.

Same reasoning for the bins at building sites. the disposal of that material may be different than for household waste. Adding household waste may mean extra time/money separating the trash.

James Powell

[Flyer22]

I used to work at Burger King. In the first place, a lot of times the outside trash cans, while being close to the door, are often placed so that the people working inside can see them from only a few spots. Secondly, we expected that people would toss in small items of personal trash. Moreover, even if we didn't want people to do that, and even if we actually saw them doing it, many times we would have been too busy to do anything about it.

Having said all that, I daresay that only a very few people would even think of calling the State Police instead of the local police.

Originally Posted by Skeptic

I remember hearing that in London, (perhaps all UK?) you can be fined for dumping rubbish in those big metal skips that are put beside building sites. It's fair enough if you ask me as those things are expensive to have hauled away. I'm sure they don't mind a few papers, but not bags of stuff or old furniture.

Our town charges to haul away anything beyond a regular bag of trash so people end up dumping tons of stuff at Salvation Army boxes. I know it's not supposed to be done (not sure what the criminal level is) but people do it. We found a good working ice cream maker once. Though I guess even though it wasn't supposed to be there we probably weren't supposed to take it. By all accounts it would otherwise have wound up in the trash. I haven't heard of anyone being prosecuted for dumping at the boxes so far.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Skeptic

I remember hearing that in London, (perhaps all UK?) you can be fined for dumping rubbish in those big metal skips that are put beside building sites. It's fair enough if you ask me as those things are expensive to have hauled away. I'm sure they don't mind a few papers, but not bags of stuff or old furniture.

I'm sure you could, although you'd have to dump a lot.

I spent some time this summer on a work site on a house renovation. We had a dumpster outside, and my job consisted of hauling the debris from the house to the dumpster (mostly plaster and long pieces of wood). And every morning, somebody had tossed an old piece of furniture, or carpeting, or even just a couple of garbage bags. It annoyed us. And of course, we'd have to pay for it, and the cost for rental and removal of one dumpster is about five hundred dollars.

Yes, it is illegal to dump in a commercial dumpster (Private property, I'm guessing) and it is money out of their pocket.

[guruwan2b]

What? No one has linked to the 27 8-by-10 color glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence????

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by guruwan2b

What? No one has linked to the 27 8-by-10 color glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence????

Kid, have you reformed?

[guruwan2b]

Ummm, No. Off to the Group W bench???