Trash Can Fine $300

[StantonCree]

I know it's not D.C. but I am sure the process is similar. So how this works (at least for us) is the DPW/Code Enforcement person comes through and electronically issues you the ticket. The ticket gets leveed on your property taxes so should it not be adjudicated you're going pay it one way or another. After the ticket is electronically issued they have a time period to come put a notice on your door which is probably why you see a date discrepancy. It's my understanding that as long as the problem is fixed these things have a way of being significantly reduced or removed all together. D.C. doesn't issue warnings for these things either and GENERALLY they are done on a compliant basis, like someone called on your or the specific area in general and you're getting caught up.

 

[Redcobra]

Baltimore county will also give a home owner a ticket for having dog poop in their yard also...

That's gotta be BS and not true. Anybody who has dogs has poop in their yard. What's the justification?
My dogs poop in the lawn all the time and I let mother nature handle it.
Show me that law.

 

[Threeband]

Ha! Here in Carroll County, we don't even have trash collection!

 

[zoostation]

Baltimore County is famous for this. Unfortunately I think you are stuck with the option of taking time off and going to the hearing to get the fine knocked down. Otherwise if not paid they levy the fine onto your real estate taxes and I think can do a bunch of other things to collect as well.

 

[Kman]

Taxpayer funded civil servants raping the subjects for their own good.

Awesome!

 

[71Chevelle427]

Half my lazy neighbors throw their bags in the gutter, no can at all....so that's "legal", but a can without a lid isn't?

I remove my lids when I put the cans out front, just to make it easier for the trash throwers....I bought 2 of those nice cans shown above and they refused to empty them because they were larger than 40 gallon capacity. Mine were 48 I believe.

 

[Fox Mike]

Taped to my door? What was 'taped to my door'? I saw nothing there when I arrived home. That is the answer they would get from me.

 

[outrider58]

Taped to my door? What was 'taped to my door'? I saw nothing there when I arrived home. That is the answer they would get from me.

Doesn't matter. It's the old "somebody must have taken the parking ticket off my windshield" plaint. You still gotta pay Mac.

 

[CruncherBlock]

I believe you can contact the County and not have to pay the fine. Also you should chain your lids to your cans. Otherwise you can be contributing to a rat problem. You can pick up chain and fasteners at your Rosedale Home Depot.

 

[BeoBill]

That's gotta be BS and not true. Anybody who has dogs has poop in their yard. What's the justification?
My dogs poop in the lawn all the time and I let mother nature handle it.
Show me that law.

I would deposit a truckload of fresh cow manure in the HOA Prez' front yard. Just sayin'...

 

[rseymorejr]

That's gotta be BS and not true. Anybody who has dogs has poop in their yard. What's the justification?
My dogs poop in the lawn all the time and I let mother nature handle it.
Show me that law.

It's a rat thing. For some reason rats love dog s***

 

[Kharn]

Get the cans designed to be lifted by the truck, with the hinged lid and wheels. They're so much easier than regular cans if you have to move the can a lot distance and the trash guy doesn't get mad if you put 100lbs of crap inside. My trash company provided them for free, 96 gallon capacity, both recycling and trash, so i can really load them up.

 

[robmints]

The OP recieved a ticket for no lids. OP says that he did NOT have lids.

Did I miss somthing significant?

Yes. The law is the can must be lidded when trash is being stored in them. The cans in back of his house were set out for imminent pick up, no longer in storage.

 

[Nosce Hostem]

I believe you can contact the County and not have to pay the fine. Also you should chain your lids to your cans. Otherwise you can be contributing to a rat problem. You can pick up chain and fasteners at your Rosedale Home Depot.

I wouldn't chain it to the can. The County site states that it Must Not be fastened to the can with rope chains etc.

But I would definitely fight it. That same page also says the containers "should", not must, have a tight fitting lid. Also, they allow you to set out garbage in plastic bags so any argument they try to make that its for rat/animal control is BS otherwise they wouldn't allow it. (County Code §13-4-201 requires trash to be placed in a container with a tight fitting lid for storage. If a resident chooses to place household trash at the curb in a plastic bag, instead of a container, it may be collected if:
1. The filled weight does not exceed 30 pounds (because of difficulty in handling).
2. The bag is thick and sturdy enough to support 30 pounds of refuse without tearing, and is securely tied at the top to prevent spillage.)
Then again that code says that lids are required despite the other site stating that they only should.

If you print off these discrepancies from their own site, I could see a successful argument. Or at the very least get the joy of annoying someone for a day by requesting a hearing. Good Luck!

 

[Nosce Hostem]

Get the cans designed to be lifted by the truck, with the hinged lid and wheels. They're so much easier than regular cans if you have to move the can a lot distance and the trash guy doesn't get mad if you put 100lbs of crap inside. My trash company provided them for free, 96 gallon capacity, both recycling and trash, so i can really load them up.

Only problem with that is he would open himself to another fine. Baltimore county says that it doesn't want cans over 34 gallons for trash or over 32 for recycling and they cant weigh over something like 30 or 40 pounds. Have never seen it enforced, but then again have never seen the lid rule enforced either.

 

[71Chevelle427]

Also, they allow you to set out garbage in plastic bags so any argument they try to make that its for rat/animal control is BS otherwise they wouldn't allow it.

Good Luck!

Exactly...

 

[PapiBarcelona]

Baltimore County trash is evidently billed on your property taxes.

What Kharn didn't tell you is that unincorporated Harford County you are billed quarterly from a private hauler if you choose to have/hire trash service.

Since Scarborough and the Waste/Energy plant closed in Harford, there is basically only 1 provider to go to now, as everyone else who hauled trash has sold out. Bartenfelder is still driving trucks around though.

 

[travistheone]

as a baltimore county resident can I opt out of traffic pick up?

 

[71Chevelle427]

as a baltimore county resident can I opt out of traffic pick up?

I'm sure you can opt out of placing the cans/bags at the curb, but not opt out of paying for it...

 

[traveller]

Having trash cans with lids is one of the basic elements of rat control. Yes, you should have a lid on there. But $300 without a prior written warning, ouch.