Curb recycling high-graders

St. John's recycling program is one week old and already there are complaints of people swiping bottles and cans from recycling bags, according to one city councillor.

Coun. Debbie Hanlon described the garbage pickers as "worse than gulls", referring to the seagulls that rip open bags of trash during garbage collection days.

The garbage high-graders are taking the items that are worth cash and leaving behind a big mess when they dump the rest, Hanlon said at Monday's council meeting,

City officials said they are looking for ways to prevent people from rifling through recycling bags before the problem gets out of control.