NY trash `recycler` avoids $79K in clutter fines

Johnson City: A woman in an upstate New York village nearly had to pay $79,000 in fines for her hobby of picking through curb side trash and piling the items in her yard. Karen Herzog calls herself a trash "recycler" — recovering everything from typewriters to porcelain figurines to discarded bricks.

She`s donated much of it to the Salvation Army or found ways to use the objects at her home outside of Binghamton. But neighbours in Johnson City didn`t appreciate the heap of clutter in her yard and reported her for code violations. Herzog was recently told in village court she`d have to pay $79,000 unless she got rid of everything except a broken wicker chair and a flower pot. The garbage is gone. But Herzog says she`s now considering reporting her neighbours for code violations. Bureau Report