Trash Scavengers Face A $25 Fine

Scavengers looting through trash for items to sell are “a minor nuisance” to health department officials, but what they are doing – called overhauling – is illegal, said Health Director Jeff Vaughan Wednesday.

Thedepartment does not get a lot of complaints about scavengers, but when it does, officials try to get the license tag of the scavenger and have the police department send a letter warning them that it is illegal, Vaughan said.

The biggest concern, he said, is possibility of identity theft.

One resident recently complained to Patch about a man in a truck with Maine plates going through his trash.

“We don't have many from Maine,” Vaughan said. “We have enough from Massachusetts and New Hampshire.”

Scavengers are a problem, said Health Board Chairman Martha Dansdill. “In Swampscott and many communities with waste regulations, it is illegal to scavenge through someone's trash without permission of the owner,” she said in an email.

“The police should be called and (they) will ask the scavenger to move on. Scavenging in today's age can lead to identity theft if a bill or prescription bottle should be found.

"We encourage residents to return bottles and cans that have a 5 cent deposit or donate them to a church, temple or other organization” she wrote.

If the scavenger does not adhere to the warning, the town can fine the offender $25 or the refunds on 500 bottles or cans found in the trash.