OCEANSIDE -- The City Council gave unanimous support Wednesday to a proposed law cracking down on people who take garbage from trash cans and recycle bins in Oceanside.

The law, introduced Wednesday, is designed to let residents know it's stealing to remove items from curbside bins. If approved on a second reading, expected soon, the law would give Oceanside police and code enforcement officers the power to ticket violators.

The council also approved an $18 million contract to build a bridge over the San Luis Rey River at Pacific Street and directed staffers to consider increasing senior transportation programs.

During Wednesday's quick meeting, several council members and residents said they often see people scavenging through trash cans for materials they can recycle for money.

The city's trash haulers lose revenue when people steal the recyclable material, and it leads to higher trash rates for residents, city officials said.

"The goal here is to stop folks who are making a business out of ripping the city off," said Councilwoman Shari Mackin. "This has been a very hot topic lately."

Stealing aluminum and plastic cans has long been a problem in Oceanside, but it has become more common recently, said Ester Beatty, a senior management analyst.

She said the city's trash hauler, Waste Management Inc., estimates people steal about 10 percent of the 359 tons of recyclable materials residents and business put out each year

The theft costs Waste Management between $30,000 and $40,000 a year in lost revenue, and the losses are passed onto residents through higher rates, Betty said.

She said the city has had a law against scavenging since the late 1980s, but the new law "adds more teeth."

Beatty added that to stop the problem, residents should call the city when they see people taking recyclable material, and they should try not to put their cans on the curb too early.

Resident Carolyn Krammer told the council she doesn't put her recyclables on the street until the morning anymore.

"Soon as dark hits, pillaging starts in the neighborhood," Krammer said. "I do hope the city enforces this law."

The city will not have to hire any new employees, but will have code enforcement and police officers respond when residents report people stealing materials.

David Manley, the city's code enforcement manager, said his department has already started trying to stop people from rummaging through residents' trash.

"We've had some success catching people already, and the stealing has stopped on those streets," Manley said.

He said code enforcement officers issue a ticket when they catch someone in the act and the violators usually receive a fine of about $100 or $200.

Resident Sylvia Peters said she plans to call code enforcement, because every week a couple of people go through all of the recycle bins in her neighborhood and leave trash thrown around the street.

"My neighbors and I are afraid to say anything to them because we don't want them to do something to our properties," Peters said. "We all just stand around and watch."

Peters said the new law is a good start, but the city needs to look at changing how it runs its recycling program. Instead of having residents sort recyclable material into three different baskets, Peters said the city should give residents one bin for papers, plastics and glass. The city should then have the material sorted at a central facility.

Peters said having a recycle can with a top would make it tougher for people to steal.

City officials and representatives of Waste Management said they were studying such changes to the recycling.

Waste Management didn't propose the new law, but the company supports it, said Ken Ryan, the district manager for the trash hauler.

"Anything that helps recycling in Oceanside, we are all for it," Ryan said.

Californians recycled an all-time high 12.4 billion beverage containers in 2005, according to the state department of conservation.

State law makes each plastic, glass or aluminium container worth at least 4 cents when recycled.

Locally residents can get 69 cents for every pound of plastic bottles and $1.30 per pound of aluminum cans, Betty said.

Without recycling, it takes 100 years for aluminum cans, 700 years for plastic bottles and 1 million years for a glass containers to degrade in a landfill, according to the state conservation web site.

The site states it only takes 90 days for a recycled aluminum can to make it back on the shelf.

"I hope the public doesn't miss the important message," Councilman Rocky Chavez said. "It's important we recycle for the environment.

"The solution to the stealing is neighborhood watch programs and letting the city know," he said.

Contact staff writer David Sterrett at (760) 901-4067 or dsterrett@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.