CALIFORNIA vs GREENWOOD: Feel safe just throwing your old hard drive in the trash bin?? In 1988 the Supreme Court ruled once materials reach the trash bin they become part of the public domain, accessible to anyone who wishes to look and remove items of interest. The law is fairly well settled: Proprietary interests in documents cease when they are thrown out. For example, these abandoned materials may be seized by the government without the procurement of a warrant.

The legal issues that arise regarding the disposal of garbage involve the invasion of privacy rights, implicitly protected by the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment. However, as established through a series of cases, these rights extend only to proprietary interests. Once papers and effects leave a person's possession, such rights no longer survive. Courts have consistently held that the right to privacy does not extend to abandoned items, such as documents placed in trash bins, or to information that is not securely maintained . Trespassing laws may protect your garbage while it remains on your property or until it leaves the dumpster, but once it hits public domain its fair game. So all the financial statements and company information stored on those improperly disposed of hard drives is up for grabs to anyone willing to go get it.

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