Citation for Trash Taker Is Ripped Up

IRVINE —  Pick up trash in Irvine and you might get a police citation, as 70-year-old Nikolaj Grinenko did earlier this month.

Or you might get a commendation from the city manager and an audience with the chief of police, as Grinenko did this week.

Grinenko, a retiree who often picks up trash in his neighborhood, was arrested March 5 as he walked along Yale Avenue with a bag of bottles and cans he had collected from a nearby park. He was cited for violating a city ordinance outlawing the removal of recycleable materials.

After his arrest was reported, Grinenko said he was told by police that the charge would be dropped.

When he first tried to speak with police about the citation, Grinenko was told to take his complaint to a judge. The second time, he met with Irvine Police Chief Leo Peart.

“This time they almost carried me upstairs,” he said. “I talked to him, man to man.”

Then, Grinenko got a letter from City Manager Paul Brady Jr. that apologized for the citation--and praised Grinenko for his civic-mindedness.

“You are to be complimented for your interest in maintaining your Northwood neighborhood in a clean and litter-free condition,” Brady’s letter said. “I wish we had more interested citizens who took the time to become involved in their neighborhood’s cleanliness.”

Grinenko said he is satisfied with the city’s apology.

“That’s enough,” he said. “I’m an old man. I don’t want to make a fuss.”