Steve Bantly: ‘Blue-can pickers’ could make our taxes go up
Help! We have a problem here in Merced. I call it “blue can fever,” and it happens every time we (myself and our neighbors) put our trash cans out for pick-up. A small army of “pickers” go through the blue recyclable cans, removing everything of value. They used to do this in the dead of night, but have now gotten more blatant and appear in broad daylight. One couple even drive their car from can to can and, in a matter of 20 minutes, clear out an entire neighborhood – that’s what I call efficiency!
I usually hide our blue can behind a parked car on our driveway, but sometimes I miss the collection truck.
I can understand some people having difficulty making ends meet in this highly job-outsourced economy, but I understand the city sells the blue-can contents to recycling companies, helping to subsidize the cost of the city’s recycling program – otherwise our taxes pay for it. These blue-can pickers can adversely affect all Merced residents. Perhaps an increased police presence might help reduce this problem.
Meanwhile, I will be hiding my blue can behind my car on collection days.
Steve Bantly, Merced
This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Steve Bantly: ‘Blue-can pickers’ could make our taxes go up."