Report: Recycling fraud costs California millions

PIONEER PRESS ^ | 10-7-12 | ap

[TurboZamboni]

LOS ANGELES—Rampant fraud within California's recycling redemption program is costing the state millions of dollars, as scammers drive trucks full of cans across the border from Nevada and Arizona to collect nickels on deposits that were never paid. California recyclers also are claiming redemptions for the same containers several times, or for containers that never existed, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/QW1sg8).

Government officials recently estimated the fraud at $40 million a year, and an industry expert told the newspaper it could exceed $200 million. The state's $1.1 billion recycling fund paid out $100 million more in expenses last year than it took in from deposits and other sources, the Times said.

[TurboZamboni]

hard to believe a "green" gubmint program would be rife with fraud and waste.(sarc)

[Vince Ferrer]

I kinda wish I was evil enough to think this up. Never occurred to me.

[oldbrowser]

I kinda wish I was evil enough to think this up. Never occurred to me.

The scary part is that it never occurred to our elected officials that this would eventually happen. What were they thinking?

[The SISU kid]

seen “people” buy cases of bott;ed water with thier SNAP/EBT cards just to dump it in the street to collect the deposit for “FUN” money....

[TauntedTiger]

The recycling program here in Sacramento has empowered the homeless to roam each and every neighborhood from sunset to sunrise every seven days.

[Red Badger]

I thought they did that anyway.......

[pops88]

I’m non-compliant. Why should I clean my aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, to haul them to the curb in separate, special containers, so the waste company can make money off them? I consider that doing more than half their job and they get the rewards. Simply...no. You want me to recycle? Then pay me. The recycling companies are laughing all the way to the bank over the stupid sheeple.

[television is just wrong]

lol yet more failed policies.

[NCcatdaddy]

the ringleaders of this nefarious scheme.

[freekitty]

Those politicians and lobbyists have to have their money.

[Myrddin]

I buy flats of diet sugar free RockStar. One goes to work with me each day. Half the price of the burned Starbucks swill sold in the cafeteria. My cans are about 50% purchased in San Diego/50% purchased in Idaho when I was home. All are crushed to a flat disk so you can't see whether they have the CRV label or not. I damn sure pay the CRV on most of my cans. My collection is getting obnoxious. I want to redeem them and clear the space in the back of my F150.

[max americana]

Here in Hollywood, I counted 4 places where you can exchange your recyclables but they were mostly located at the back of Jons stores or gas stations, complete with empty trailer trucks, handled by mexicans. All 4 were gone for the past 4 months. Everyone knew they were fly by night operations but no one cared as long as they got their dough.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Aluminum is worth about $1.00/lb, and there are about 33 cans per pound. That means the aluminum cans are worth about 3 cents apiece. IOW, the net cost of this scam, to the taxpayers of California is reduced to about 2 cents/can.

OTOH, recycled glass barely covers the cost of processing it. The offset is about zero. The California taxpayer pays 100% of the costs, for the imported bottles.

[kidd]

scammers drive trucks full of cans across the border from Nevada and Arizona to collect nickels on deposits that were never paid.

They're only "scammers" if what they are doing is illegal.

Blame it on idiotic legislation.

[Safetgiver]

ANYTHING the goobermint gets involved will be corrupted eventually, or from the start. Medicaid, Medicare, SSS, you name it.

[Safetgiver]

You didn’t see Seinfeldt?

[1010RD]

No need to think when it’s somebody else’s money.