April 3, 2009
Province aims to crack down on 'bottle bandits'
Schemers rob recycling programs with imported bottles and cans
By Jesse Robichaud
Some strange and sometimes illegal money-making schemes are born out of tough economic times.
Introducing the 'bottle bandit,' a new thorn in the side of New Brunswick's recycling program.
The term may sound a bit strong, however the increasingly frequent practice of importing empty beverage containers from Quebec and Ontario with the intention of cashing in at redemption centres is not only eccentric, but patently illegal.
The problem with cashing in on imported bottles and cans is that the province's recycling system is paying out money it doesn't have, because a deposit was never paid in New Brunswick.
And the pay dirt can pile up fast, even by thousands of dollars per trip.
New Brunswick is a target because of its proximity to Quebec and Ontario and the fact that there are many types of containers that can be returned for money here that aren't eligible through recycling programs in those provinces.
As the co-ordinator of recycling programs for the Department of Environment, Frank LeBlanc has seen data that indicates that the practice is a widespread problem, and is getting worse.
"People see an opportunity to pay for their trips back home, and rather than travel one way empty, there is an opportunity to pick up beverage containers in Ontario or Quebec and bring them back here and get a nickel of free money for them," said LeBlanc.
"If I come down and I had a truck full of mini-sips flattened out, you fit a significant amount of those into a cube van. It would certainly be a worthy venture," he said.
LeBlanc admits it is a profitable practice, but he said it is potentially perilous for enterprising recyclers and profiteering bottle exchanges.
He said bottle exchanges that are found to be accepting imported containers could lose their license, and the police will be contacted to deal with the criminal offence.
"If we were to catch someone doing this from out of province of course we would call in the local police," said LeBlanc.
"Whoever is bringing them in knows full well that no deposit was paid on those containers."
Although standardized packaging across Canada makes it impossible to know whether an individual beverage container was bought outside of New Brunswick, LeBlanc said there are tell-tale signs that are evident to provincial recycling authorities and individual bottle exchanges.
LeBlanc said huge truckloads of bottles should immediately cause suspicion.
Steve Hope of Riverview Bottle Exchange said his staff can easily notice an unusually large delivery of bottles or cans.
"We have our occasional bottle drives, like churches and stuff that come in with a fair amount, but they come in every month and we know who they are," said Hope.
"But if somebody came in with a tractor trailer load that would cause us some concern."
And because the majority of offenders pick up containers from municipal container collection facilities where containers have already been sorted, LeBlanc said bottle exchanges should be able to tell if a load is too well organized.
"I have been around this business for a long time, and I have never seen a car pull in with all one type of container before," said LeBlanc.
"Usually when these are coming in they are all one kind of container."
Municipal container collection facilities actually have to pay to process containers, so they do not always object to selling off the bottles and cans for a penny apiece.
LeBlanc said the data collected by the province also provides hints to what depots are accepting unusual deliveries.
"If a redemption centre has a spike of 30,000 containers over what the normal flow is from that redemption centre, it is very easy to see they got a large shipment from somewhere," said LeBlanc.
"It's obvious in the data we have. Proving where they came from, unless we can find out specifically, is a different story."
While one might assume most of the illegal activity is happening near the Quebec border, LeBlanc said it is spread out throughout the province.
LeBlanc said vehicles as big as a three-tonne trucks and cube vans have been found to be importing bottles.
New Brunswick has been a target for importing empty containers since 1992 when the recycling program was introduced here. Since then, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have introduced identical recycling programs, so the flow of imported containers is now coming mainly from Ontario and Quebec, where only certain containers are recycled. The phenomenon is nevertheless growing, and LeBlanc said the province is worried it could get out of control.
That is why LeBlanc sent a letter to bottle exchange facilities in February to warn operators of the consequences of dealing with bottles coming in from outside of the province.
He said the province is determined to crack down on the schemes that can cost more than 13 cents per container once all the fees and costs are calculated.
Maurice Robichaud of Recyclage Kent Recycling in Saint-Louis-de-Kent said the province and individual bottle exchanges must remain vigilant in order to maintain the integrity of the province's recycling system.
He said the system is already strained by the slow economy and low prices for recyclable materials.
"Right now if the system has to pay out more than it takes in it is certain the system will be in danger."
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/624468
