Articles

Upcoming court hearing : can garbage collectors sift through your trash?

April 08, 2016 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

Seattle punishes people who throw food in the garbage bin. To enforce this mandate, the City has deputized garbage collectors to poke through each garbage can on their routes, hunting for taboo pizza crusts or red velvet cakes. PLF sued on behalf of eight Seattle residents to challenge this privacy invasion in court. We will present our case, B ...

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The slop sleuths of Seattle

September 15, 2015 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

Our lawsuit against Seattle’s illegal surveillance program received more national media attention yesterday (click here). Seattle bureaucrats monitor everyone’s trash cans to make sure no one throws out food. Government shouldn’t meddle in the minutia of our everyday lives. And it should honor our privacy. For more on this ...

Articles

Seattle privacy lawsuit : Irony, delicious as pie

July 21, 2015 | By BRIAN HODGES

The City of Seattle is lost in the deep dark forest of its progressive ideals—and yet it just can’t seem to see the forest for the tress. As you may recall, PLF attorneys filed a lawsuit last week arguing that a city law authorizing trash collectors to inspect the contents of residential garbage cans for … ...

Articles

PLF sues Seattle bureaucrats who want to snoop through your trashcans

July 16, 2015 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

PLF sued the City of Seattle this morning in Bonesteel v. City of Seattle to challenge sweeping surveillance of residents and businesses. The City’s zeal for bumping its recycling rate bypassed constitutional boundaries when Seattle decided to have trash collectors and inspectors poke around for compostable contraband, such as pizza ...