Ha, and I thought the MBA stood for Midtown Bar Association. Cheers! Second Saturday might benefit by becoming a weekly event, as has been suggested elsewhere, and in any case it needs to begin and end earlier in the day. Our little neighborhood is simply not capable of accommodating 15-20,000 people, at least not without significant changes to the event and how it's managed. The Mayor says that we, "can't afford to end Second Saturday" but I wonder if the City is really willing to step up and take resposibility for what's happening. Gosh, 20 Police Officers seems woefully inadequate, doesn't it? Why the City continues to neglect this signature Sacramento event is beyond me. It could be a real treasure. But without the care it deserves, a violent sort of anarchy seems to be a foregone conclusion. It's like other things in our fair city: 90% done and 90% to go.

To be honest, I'm questioning my own views, too; the writing process and the opinions I'm reading here are part of that process. I thank you all. At the risk of repeating myself, it's now time to eliminate the CRV and redemption centers which cater to individuals. This, I believe, is the ultimate solution to the problem. The RV, as I see it, was added quite some time ago to encourage recycling. We've come a long way since then. It does bother me, though, that I'm billed a recycling fee even if I don't put the Toter out weekly and instead redeem the cans myself. That doesn't seem right somehow, and it's what prompted me to write in the first place. But I'm realizing that the problem is much bigger than this one issue.

I humbly agree with you, I think the issue is lots bigger than the redirection of funds citywide. I sincerely hope this assertion doesn't offend you, but I believe—more and more strongly as the discussion contiunes—that it is now time to remove *entirely* the value we're adding to recyclables by eliminating the CRV and [ahem] shuttering all redemption centers statewide. My proposal will allow only municipalities and other authorized parties to participate in the redemption process.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it very much. I do agree that we have recycling options, as you've pointed out. However, the problem is that we're charged a flat fee for recycling services by the City, regardless. Also, the Police admit freely that, outside of writing a small nuisance citation, there's not much they can do. What's odd with recycling is, it's no longer personal property since it's been intentionally left out on the street, and isn't really the City's property until it's in the truck. While it's waiting to be picked up, it's pretty much fair game, legally (except for those little citations). Even if it's seen being taken from a Toter and placed into a vehicle, the Police still have no additional legal tools to work with (possession of stolen property, etc.) And trespassers—a thankfully more rare permutation of scavenger—are usually gone by the time the Police arrive. Believe me, I have more personal experience with this than I care to admit. Stay tuned, I'll soon be following up with another article, exploring the relationship between the creation of the CRV, redemption centers, and the rise of the scavenging profession. I believe the ultimate solution is to eliminate any sort of redemption value and all redemption centers, statewide, and allow only municipalities and other authorized parties to receive money for retrieved recyclables. First off, though, it's time to stop treating recycling like trash, which is what we do now. But locking Toters and other theft-deterrent solutions are, clearly, not the answer.

You're onto something, all right! I shall more formally propose that we consider statewide elimination of the CRV and redemption centers, and allow only municipalities and other authorized parties to receive money for retrieved recyclables. Increased enforcement, in any manner, I don't think is the answer; even the Police admit as much. Recycling falls into a gray legal area: since it's left out on the street, it's no longer the property of the person who leaves it out, but it's not completely the City's property, either, until it's placed into the truck. The reality of it is, the Police will now write small citations for scavenging offenses, but even if they witness cans being taken from a Toter and placed in a vehicle, they still can not treat it as stolen property. And establishing ownership of recycling on a can-by-can basis seems virtually impossible, and terribly cumbersome at best.