The following information has just been received from a reader of
How to be Invisible:
“I know of one city that pays the trash truck drivers a
cash bonus every time they report someone who is
building or remodeling without a permit. If the drivers see any activity, they report the address to the permit office. If no permit has been issued for that address, the building inspector makes a visit. The trash truck drivers go to every house & business in the county once or twice a week, and any construction activity is easily noticed. Even swapping out an electric water heater, a very easy job, will get you busted if you toss the box & packaging out to the curb to be picked up.”
I don’t know how many cities pay cash bonuses to the trash drivers but I suspect they are encouraged to report ANY suspicious activity to Homeland Security.
Most of the drivers, of course, are just out to do their job and deserve our respect, but why not take care? What if a burglar is paying a bent driver to watch for empty cartons from computers, flat screen TVs, and home theater systems? (He can then target those homes for a visit!)
No, let’s not be in fear of the trash collectors (unless we’re doing some moonlight remodeling) but why not keep a low profile—especially with the holidays coming up—and dispose of our big boxes at some other location?
Labels: building permits, burglars, garbage men, homeland security, trash collectors
Privacy blog post by JJ Luna at 3:19 AM
