Dive Brief:
- Albany, California has established a settlement agreement with a group of homeless people who were using a local landfill as their home. Some have lived at the site for years.
- The city plans to transform the site into a park and, in November of 2013, issued an eviction notice for the transients to leave. A group of about ten displaced people launched a federal lawsuit against the city, in conjunction with a non-profit advocacy organization.
- According to the Sacramento Bee, the city of Albany has agreed to pay 28 people a sum of $3,000 each to vacate the area. The group must be gone by the April 25, and may not return for one year.
Dive Insight:
Over 20 additional members of the homeless community must also pack up and go that were not part of the settlement, and therefore will not receive a portion of the funds. The waste industry's relationship with the homeless community is strained: In November of 2013, new recycling laws that limit bottle returns in exchange for cash may have a negative impact on the poor across the state. The adoption of curbside recycling in Bakersfield has also adversely affected the homeless population in that area.
