People have a duty to keep their own property in order.

The language is more complex in Bill 78, which seeks to rein in those who turn their bulky rubbish into neighborhood eyesores. But applying some personal responsibility to property owners who exceed the limits of city trash-collection services is precisely what makes the bill a good idea.

Every community has a few of these, and some more than a few: scofflaws who leave bulky items out on the curb long before the city is due to make its rounds to haul them away.

The result of this irresponsible behavior is that either the city is compelled to make an extra trip to collect them, at taxpayer expense, or the neighborhood has to endure the degradation of their surroundings.

The city administration, already facing fiscal constraints due to the economic recession, is right to try to put an end to this practice. Bill 78, which had its first reading yesterday before the City Council, would penalize property owners — or, in the case of condominium projects, the apartment owner association — when trash has been left out earlier than the night before its scheduled collection.

If they don't heed a warning letter after seven days, they would be billed the actual costs of removing the bulky items. Civil fines also could be assessed.

The city would need to adopt administrative rules to flesh out some of the details, such as grievances by owners whose property has been used by others as a dumping ground.

Even if every possible abuse can't be anticipated, the bottom line is that owners are responsible for the condition of their property. Bill 78 holds them accountable, as they should be, to this basic principle.