BREA, Calif. (KABC) — The city of Brea issued a warning on social media last week about trash bin violations, announcing that randomly selected addresses may have their garbage containers inspected.

A photo on the city’s official Instagram page shows a city worker examining a resident’s trash cans.

The inspections are required under state law, specifically Senate Bill 1383. According to the city, the law “requires the city to annually monitor all streams of containers (residential and commercial) at randomly selected addresses on each waste hauler route to observe and document if there is contamination from the disposed contents.”

Contamination occurs when items are placed in the wrong bin.

The city provided examples: “Putting a plastic bag in the recycle container, food in the trash container, or an aluminum can in the organics container” constitutes contamination.

Inspectors are either city staff or employees from the waste hauler, all of whom wear safety vests.

“Field auditors will note whether a container was set out for collection, how full it is, and whether any contamination is found,” the city said.

If trash is placed incorrectly, an “OOPS!” tag will be placed on the container explaining the error. Violators may face fines starting at $50.

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