The City of San Diego has begun to check trash cans in neighborhoods across the city. Workers want to make sure people are sorting the right waste into the right bin. “We鈥檝e never been this detailed and thorough with it,” said City Waste Reduction Program Manager Alexander Galasso.
Teams of Compliance Officers, more commonly called “lid lifters,” will walk through neighborhoods to make sure everyone is disposing of their waste properly. It’s a requirement under Senate Bill 1883, which went into effect recently and required Californians to recycle organic waste separately from the rest of their trash and recycling.
The lid lifters won’t actually dig through trash. They just raise the top and take a simple look at the upper layer. If they see something that doesn’t belong, they put an “oops” tag on the bin, letting the homeowner know about the mistake.