California examines Seinfeld amendment to bottle bill

By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling

In California, a lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require anyone bringing a significant amount of used beverage containers into the state to report to CalRecycle.

Assemblyman Richard Gordon, a Democrat from Menlo Park, has introduced a bill that would mandate that anyone trying to bring at least 25 pounds of aluminum, bi-metal or plastic into the state would have to report it to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). It would also require the same for 250 pounds of glass. The law is aimed at preventing out-of-state residents from cashing in on California's container deposit redemption program.

"If I could, I would name it the Newman-Kramer Deterrence Act of 2012," said Gordon in an interview with Bloomberg, referencing an episode of the iconic sitcom Seinfeld where characters Kramer and Newman attempt to smuggle a mail truck of bottles and cans from New York to Michigan in hopes of cashing in on the state's higher container deposit value.

Seinfeld reference aside, the issue the bill seeks to address is serious. The text of the bill says approximately a billion dollars flow through California's Beverage Container Recycling Fund annually, and the large amount of money has attracted the attention of would-be scammers.

Just last year, law enforcement officials in the Golden State busted an operation that was illegally importing beverage containers from Arizona and cashing them in under California's bottle bill. In all, the operation was said to have cost the state $7 million. Other states with container deposit laws have also reported similar problems.

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