Landlord Claims Scavengers Put Recycling Bottles in Regular Garbage Bags

DOS issued a violation notice to landlord for putting recyclables in regular garbage bags without separating them. Landlord claimed that scavengers on the street put the bottles in the regular garbage bags. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $25. The ALJ reasoned that scavengers would be more likely to remove bottles from garbage to collect the refund than to put them in the regular garbage bags. Landlord appealed and won. The ALJ's inference regarding the bottles wasn't supported by the record. There was no basis for finding that the four glass bottles and four plastic containers found in the regular garbage bags were refundable objects.

Victor: ECB App. No. 33815 (1/29/02) [2-pg. doc.]