California continues to crack down on recycling scams

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has arrested a truck driver on charges of felony recycling fraud, attempted grand theft and conspiracy. The suspect is accused of illegally transporting used beverage containers (UBCs) from Arizona to California with the intent to defraud the California Redemption Value Fund.

“CalRecycle is staying on the offense with some of the most aggressive recycling-fraud prevention efforts in the nation,” says CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline. “Our enforcement partners will continue to follow every lead, monitor suspected traffickers and disrupt these criminal organizations before they have a chance to rip off California consumers.”

According to a CalRecycle report, on July 19, 2016, California Department of Justice Recycling Fraud Team agents witnessed a truck trailer being loaded with UBCs in Phoenix. Agents followed the truck into California, then observed as the driver took a 70-mile detour to avoid a California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) checkpoint. Agents stopped the truck with assistance from the California Highway Patrol.

The truck driver, Julio Bolanos, stated he was transporting cans from Arizona and did not have a shipment receipt or Imported Material Report, which are legally required to import UBCs into California. If Bolanos had gone through the CDFA checkpoint, he would have been required to declare the contents of his load and produce the documentation. An examination of the trailer revealed about 7,000 pounds of bottles and cans worth an estimated $11,000 in potential California Redemption Value.

The tractor-trailer was impounded and Bolanos was arrested on charges of felony recycling fraud, attempted grand theft and conspiracy. He faces six months to three years in prison if convicted.