Garbage scanning violates privacy, Seattle residents say in lawsuit

Published 12:51 pm Thursday, July 16, 2015

SEATTLE — A group of residents has sued the city of Seattle, saying the city is violating their privacy rights when it requires garbage collectors to scan their garbage to make sure they don’t throw food waste in the trash.

The Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit Thursday in King County Superior Court on behalf of eight Seattle residents.

A city ordinance that took effect in January prohibits residents from putting significant amounts of food scraps in the garbage rather than compost bins. Collectors began tagging garbage bins with warnings in January.

The lawsuit alleges it violates privacy rights because residents have “a reasonable expectation that the contents of their garbage cans will remain private and free from government inspection.” It also says the ordinance violates due process because residents don’t have a way to contest an infraction.

A call to the city law officials was not immediately returned.