Recently on Boing Boing, I posted an item from Declan McCullagh's politech list about a Montana judge's ruling that it's okay for police to rummage through your garbage for incriminating evidence — even without a search warrant or court order. Declan has posted a number of updates to politech, including this reader comment:
I think someone could come up with a business plan around this: truly private garbage collection. You don't put the trash out at the corner, but contract with the garbage collector to pick up the garbage in your yard, with some sort of contract that the garbage is still yours until properly incinerated, and the collector would dispose of it in a way that guarantees privacy – incineration.I suspect this garbage company could charge a pretty penny. After all, just because people are disposing of something (because it has outlived its usefulness or is taking up too much space) doesn't mean they want it ending up in the hands of others who wish them harm. — Bryan Murley
Politech followup items:
Russell Roberts on Hayek and the social norms of trash privacy
Local paper digs through police trash — after cops say it's OK for them to do
Jonaathan Weinberg on 1984 and right to privacy in your trash
