SECTIONS 41950-41956 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 41950-41956

41950. (a) No person, other than the authorized recycling agent of
the city or county, shall remove paper, glass, cardboard, plastic,
used motor oil, ferrous metal, aluminum, or other recyclable
materials which have been segregated from solid waste materials and
placed at a designated recycling collection location for residential
curbside collection programs authorized by a city, county, or local
agency for the purposes of collection and recycling.
(b) No person shall be subject to an action for a violation of
this section, unless the person knows, or reasonably should know,
that the materials would otherwise be collected by the authorized
recycling agent for residential curbside collection programs
authorized by a city, county, or local agency for the purpose of
recycling the materials.
(c) From the time that the recyclable materials specified in
subdivision (a) are placed for collection at curbside, for a
residential curbside collection program authorized by a city, county,
or local agency, the recyclable materials are the property of the
authorized recycling agent.

41951. (a) For the purposes of this section, "commercial entity"
includes a multifamily residential complex.
(b) Unless otherwise provided by contract, paper, glass,
cardboard, plastics, used motor oil, ferrous metal, aluminum, and
other recyclable materials, which have been segregated from other
waste materials, and placed at the designated recycling collection
location by any commercial or industrial entity, shall not be removed
by anyone other than the authorized recycling agent.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by contract, from the time that the
recyclable materials specified in subdivision (b) are placed at the
designated recycling location, the recyclable materials are the
property of the authorized recycling agent.

41952. Nothing in this chapter limits the right of any person to
donate, sell, or otherwise dispose of his or her recyclable
materials.

41953. (a) In any civil action by a recycling agent against a
person alleged to have violated Section 41950 or 41951, the court may
either allow treble damages, as measured by the market value of the
recyclable material removed, or award a civil penalty of not more
than two thousand dollars ($2,000), whichever is greater, for each
unauthorized removal, against the unauthorized person removing the
recyclable material.
(b) In any civil action by a recycling agent against a person
alleged to have violated Section 41950 or 41951 for a second, or
subsequent time, in any 12-month period, the court may either allow
treble damages, as measured by the market value of the recyclable
material removed, or award a civil penalty of not more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is greater, for each
unauthorized removal against the unauthorized person removing the
recyclable material.

41954. Nothing in this article limits the authority of a local
agency to adopt or enforce regulations or ordinances on the same
matters of this article. However, any ordinance which imposes civil
penalties shall be approved by a majority vote of the governing board
which has proposed adoption of the ordinance.

41955. If the value of the stolen material is more than fifty
dollars ($50), but less than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), a
violation of this part may be charged as either a misdemeanor or an
infraction. A violation after a second conviction within a 12-month
period shall be charged as a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to
Section 19 of the Penal Code.

41956. The board may award special enforcement grants to cities or
counties to support pilot programs designed to develop and evaluate
enforcement techniques to reduce the theft of recyclable materials
from commercial, industrial, or other nonresidential establishments.