In May 16, 1988, the Supreme Court decided by 6-2 vote that post-consumer waste holds no reasonable expectation of privacy. The dissenting justices claimed that there is an expectation that content of any opaque container thrown out or transported will remain private and that search of another person's garbage does not constitute civilized behavior, but the majority ruled that the bags of trash left on the side of the street are in public ___domain, open to inspection by "animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public".
The police, after receiving a tip that Billy Greenwood was dealing in illegal drugs, searched trash bags on his curb. They found drug paraphernalia in the discarded waste, and then applied for a search warrant. Based on the trash content and the subsequent evidence found during the search, Greenwood was convicted.
After this decision, paper shredders became popular between Americans.
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