{"id":18636,"date":"2015-05-11T12:30:21","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T16:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=18636"},"modified":"2015-05-11T12:33:22","modified_gmt":"2015-05-11T16:33:22","slug":"recycling-fraud-yep-thats-a-thing-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/recycling-fraud-yep-thats-a-thing-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Recycling Fraud? Yep, That&#8217;s A Thing&#8230; [Video]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/plastic-bottles-for-recycling.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"468\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18637\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/plastic-bottles-for-recycling.jpg\" alt=\"busted for recycling fraud\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/plastic-bottles-for-recycling.jpg 640w, https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/plastic-bottles-for-recycling-300x219.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The last type of recycling fraud I remember hearing about was decades ago, and involved the concept of putting ball bearings in <a href=\"http:\/\/greenbuildingelements.com\/2014\/11\/26\/turning-old-beer-cans-shiny-new-roof\/\">aluminum cans<\/a> and then stomping them flat. This would increase the weight of that bag of cans you took to the scrap yard. Yep, not exactly something for calling out the FBI.<\/p>\n<p>But, apparently, there is such thing as large-scale recycling crime, and it can be worth millions:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IvlmG_NxFGI\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Obviously, this requires a level of commitment beyond ordinary street crime: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/news\/crime\/california-busts-14m-bottle-recycling-scheme-article-1.2215087\">according to CalRecycle<\/a>, defrauding their program to the tune of $14 million means collecting around 250 million cans and bottles. But this does illustrate a problem with state-level <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2014\/12\/deposit-programs-keep-disposable-take-containers-trash\/\">deposit schemes<\/a>: once materials are broken down, no one can read those labels showing a deposit was paid initially. The California program relies on honest reporting from recyclers; if that trust gets broken, the program itself is out a lot of money.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not quite sure how to \u00a0prevent such crime. Certainly, the market will take care of it at some levels: I&#8217;m guessing if these folks had to transport the bogus recyclables any further, there&#8217;d be little profit left. But if this idea spread back East, where states are smaller, it could become a real challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Have more insight into how container deposit programs can combat recycling fraud? Share your thoughts with us in the comments&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>via <a href=\"http:\/\/waste360.com\/plastics\/five-people-busted-14m-can-bottle-recycling-scheme-california\">Waste360<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/pic-257851391\/stock-photo-trash-bin-full-of-beverage-empty-bottles-in-summer-thirsty-day.html?src=zpVHVH8xYGlQoLjV2arUDQ-1-12\">Shutterstock<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recycling fraud worth $14 million? Who&#8217;d have thought. But that&#8217;s the size of a California-based fraud ring recently broken up by authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":18637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3593,8132,7543,370,8120,8130,39,8131],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>California Recycling Fraud Ring Broken Up<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recycling fraud worth $14 million? Who&#039;d have thought. 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