Recycling proved especially lucrative to a California family, who pocketed $7.6 million from bringing used bottles and cans to California facilities. Now, though, the state is accusing the clan of fraud, grand theft, and conspiracy.
Officials, in a criminal complaint, allege that the eight family members imported 178 tons of recyclables over the course of an eight-month period from Arizona, then recycled them in California. The state charges consumers an extra five or 10 cents when they buy a drink in a plastic or aluminum bottle for what’s called the California Redemption Value (CRV). Consumers can get that deposit back when they return the containers to the state’s recycling centers.
