Bringing in recyclables from out-of-state can result in criminal charges
Recently, two men were arrested after attempting to smuggle thousands of pounds of recyclable materials into California to take advantage of California’s generous recycling programs. The men were arrested separately in Riverside County after entering the state through Arizona. The trucks driven by the men carried a combined weight of 14,000 pounds of empty cans and bottles. The value of these recyclable goods? $20,000 — quite a lot of money!
The men were each apprehended through a sting operation set up at a California Department of Food and Agriculture checkpoint in Blythe. There, officials noted that each driver had fraudulent documents. The first driver had a fake Imported Material Report and Bill of Lading and the second driver had a fraudulent Bill of Lading and lacked an Imported Material Report entirely. As a result of their actions, both drivers face charges of felony recycling fraud, attempted grand theft, filing a false or forged document and conspiracy. They could each be sentenced to between six months and three years for these charges, plus financial penalties.
California is one of just ten states that has a container deposit law. Californians are charged a deposit on some beverage containers sold within the state; if you bring a recyclable container back to one of the state’s 2,300 privately run recycling centers, you can have that deposit returned. Typically, that amount will be five to ten cents, depending on the type of container. Only containers sold in the state are eligible for recycling, but because these recycling centers are reimbursed based on the weight of recyclables that they take in, the centers have little incentive to curb any fraud. It can also be difficult to impossible determine where a container was actually sold. Because there is a potential for profit to be made from recycling containers, there is typically a much higher percentage of containers recycled in the state of California than there are containers sold.
California’s Beverage Container Recycling Act prohibits the “redemption of beverage container material imported from out of state, previously redeemed containers, and rejected containers.” Section 14591(b)(1)(D) of the California Public Resources Code makes it a crime for any person “with intent to defraud” to redeem “out-of-state containers, rejected containers, line breakage, or containers that have already been redeemed,” or to bring “out-of-state containers, rejected containers, or line breakage to the marketplace for redemption.” Anyone who does so is guilty of fraud. If the person committing the fraud obtains money in excess of $950, then the offense is punishable by up to a year in county jail or three years in state prison. If the amount is equal to or less than $950, then the punishment is imprisonment in county jail for up to six months.
Recycling fraud is just one type of crime that can have a serious impact on all Californians. However, if you are not acting with an intent to defraud, then you may not be convicted of the crime of recycling fraud. If you have been charged with recycling fraud or a related crime, you will need an experienced California criminal defense lawyer. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial appointment and learn how we can help defend you against these charges. Our attorneys are highly skilled and will work with you to help ensure that you get the best possible outcome.
