ASSEMBLY AGRICULTURE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 769

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 7, 1996

      The Assembly Agriculture and Waste Management Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 769 with committee amendments.

      Assembly Bill No. 769 would upgrade the offense of theft of designated recyclable materials.

      According to recent reports, a growing market for recyclables has led to "scavenging" of these items. Old newsprint, aluminum cans, glass bottles and other recyclable materials left at curbside for pick-up in accordance with a municipal recycling ordinance have been hauled away by thieves, who sell the items to recycling processors and pocket the proceeds themselves. This activity deprives municipalities of needed revenues from the legitimate sale of these designated recyclable materials. In addition, the scavenging of recyclables deprives municipalities of a source of State funding; the amount of funds annually received by municipalities from State recycling tonnage grants is based on the volume of recyclable materials recovered for recycling in the municipality.

      These thefts increase recycling costs for local taxpayers and increase law enforcement costs as well, because they force municipalities to expend additional funds on deterrence and apprehension efforts. Several municipalities have responded to the problem by enacting anti-scavenging ordinances, but municipal ordinances can only have a limited deterrence effect. The sponsor believes that it will be more effective to criminalize such scavenging under the Criminal Code.

      Although scavenging is considered theft under the Criminal Code, it is difficult to prosecute these cases as crimes. Under the Code, it is only a disorderly persons offense to steal items with a value of less than $200, and a pick-up truck filled with stolen newsprint is likely to be worth slightly less than that. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

      This bill would upgrade the offense of theft of recyclables to make it a crime of the fourth degree, regardless of the value of the recyclable materials, if the items have been placed at a curbside or other appropriate location for pick-up. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months or a fine of up to $7,500 or both.

      Assembly committee amendments make several technical changes to the bill.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 1996-1997 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.