Note on author of this blog, despite known to be artist, UCR alumni has liberal studies major, with double major emphasis, Economics and History, though I have a minor in studio art, the heavier minor was in Urban Studies. Had some issues in graduating, and this was closest to my interests and journalism major, as only had one Creative Writing journalism upper division class, and I'd done the full 8 units possible lower division, and all that newspaper crap.

Environmental Studies component, and UCR was and is the leader in Air Pollution for UC, as geek city is in the box springs foothills, where smog builds up most in LA basin on smog alert days, so considered at time best of then new "green" or eco studies at that time, 1972-1977. I only took two classes, as lived in smog all my life, Solid Waste Management, and Water Waste Disposal. Had to fight like hell at Stan State to get UCR classes, cutting edge, approved for Senior status, already made environmental requirement at UCR when I took classes there.

I am experienced Dumpster Diver, as part of art project with Eric and others, have written in to the Bee, City Council on this topic for approximately 15 years, so why not bug modestofamous.com readers with it too.

I've also been a victim, in 1996 of id theft attempt, through stolen mail, thwarted by usual problem of nobody spells Christiansen correctly, especially in a hurry forgers, and record they stole, has improper birthday recorded by a public agency. Though I grew up in So. Cal, never been an actual resident of LA county. And I was broke at the time, so lousy id to steal.

But, I've also been President of Construction and Development company, we closed for estate reasons, not going broke, and so landlord who has both had commercial dumpsters to manage commercially, construction job sites, and residential for tenants and personal home stuff, so familiar with dumpster costs, management for the clean up, janitorial, had to clean up mess as one house on my property is on the alley, so track people walking up and down them, seen the mess, or care by those who went through my garbage, and rather that, than them resorting to in home burglary to dumpster dive my house, which happened, one with a knife, so prefer nuisance to what I consider scary real attack on my person and stuff.

So, this just my personal take, from experience in this area of our community, take it or leave it, but hope it informative to all on this interesting to this Economics and Urban Studies, currently self employed artists, former boss of corporation, still a landlord interest in the dumpster diving and control issues. I recycled anyway, and one of art projects at UCR, the posters for the Recycling Center. Party school at the time, I used drawings of crumpled Coors and Bud cans, "Recycle for Refills" still viable today, in about sixty days, as noted in todays Bee excellent reporting on the subject.

Jim Christiansen

Editors, modesto bee,

thanks for posting what i believe a quite accurate
report on the dumpster diver, or private personal
recyclers industry in our area, as to how its done,
who does it, the returns on the effort of work hours,
as about what my own take was, when aluminum cans a
bit lower in price per pound.

fixed income, ssa, typical budget per day, $10 a day
for starbucks with the 50 cent refill, low end
tobacco, something to eat. That is for housed, social
security or disabled, or less than 12k income person
in our area, engage in dumpster diving supplemental
income activity.

None of the divers interviewed seemed to have interest
or report on the id theft issue, while may not have
been on record, or available, as I stated in earlier
note to city council, not easy to find, no real market
for this as id thieves secretive, unless some screw up
by commercial business, or as noted in prevention of
senior financial abuse presentations by senior groups
and DA's office, stolen mail, or info by inside family
or in home service staffing, or theft of info by way
of improper throw away. More profitable, and until
recently, only marginally violation under existing
scavenging codes, to recycle aluminum, glass and
bottles. If you penalize these opportunists in
dumpster diving, I think at least double the penalty
for improper disposal of commercially handled personal
information.

Bottles, noted as the park issue, as some friends
noted to me, the lack of plastic or paper bag wrap on
the full sized whiskey bottles, and far more common
forty ouncer which can be recycled, while the whiskey
glass isn't, makes the MPD photo from park not seem to
be "normal" find, by parks users.

One thing dumpster divers do, that mere drinkers
don't, is take up the cans, bottles, plastic, that can
be recycled, even out of sanitized piles like the one
presented in photo to council. Pick up with new
alcohol law in parks reg, makes this "legal" dumpster
diving, an at risk procedure, though makes perfect
sense to at least get the few cents on the forty ounce
beer, for the low income person, environmentalist,
recycler.

The note that auto or truck transport, significantly
ups the take and recycling capability over walkers, or
even bike trailers, but has gas costs attended to that
need to be covered, does also support my contention, a
lot of your copper theft, is done more by people with
housing, transportation, gas money, than those
walking, unhoused, using a savemart bag. Copper theft,
even with safeguards in place locally, likely thief
with truck, could drive over to Stockton to recycle.
This often turned out to be the case on items stolen
from job sites I supervised since the 1970s be it
materials, stolen equipment in our area, common to my
fellow contractors and likely is still today without
adequate job site security. Trucking to haul off the
stolen items quickly, common to all major thefts,
including copper theft, lumber, cabinetry, appliances,
tools and ladders.

A number of businesses, as I noted, recently having
seen divers working electrical supply contractor bins,
have permission of the business to scavenge. This gets
around the new ordinance, but also exists at some who
do scavenge for food items, and rarely enough in any
one site, to support more than one to two divers on a
given dumpster, and not too much at that. Mileage
required to get $10 in a day, is by my own experience,
just going for cans, walking, usually plain site, but
a few spots I know where cans found, is about 12 miles
a day.

Unless you know residential areas where common to have
parties lot of beer or soda cans, not really good
source for this sort of collection, as many households
recycle themselves, and thus less likely to have their
cans looked into when this becomes known to dumpster
diver community, who do share information, where not
to go, sometimes for proprietary reasons, or been
hassled.

I appreciate the Bee noting that council procedure
requires a second vote to finalize adoption of the
ordinance, something I forgot, as currently a home
recycler, not having to use these learned skills I got
into, to understand what was going on in my graceada
park neighborhood, put some control or rules privately
for what was not well patrolled or enforced at that
time, 14 years ago, and found it did pay off, that
more than just homeless were doing this for some extra
income.

I would encourage council to rethink this, in light of
the Bee's informed reporting on this, particularly the
last paragraph, where the unhoused diver noted that
people in desperate circumstances may have to get the
money, the resources they need, other ways, and since
what they know, now a more serious crime, you elevated
nuisance into petty theft and petty burglary status,
such some of these who do this to stay out of that
sort of activity, may enter it, as risk is same, which
means an uptick in this sort of crime, may be the
result, rather than less as hoped for.

jim christiansen
artist