A driver has been caught smuggling 45,000 drink containers across state borders from New South Wales into South Australia.
The 36-year-old Broken Hill man was convicted and fined $4,800 in the Environment Development Court for breaching South Australian Container Deposit Legislation.
The conviction was the first of its kind in the 41 years the container deposit scheme has been operating in South Australia.
A driver has been caught smuggling 45,000 drink containers across state borders from New South Wales into South Australia
The man arrived at the AAA Recycling in Burton, South Australia, in June 2016 with 37 bales and seven bags filled with recycling cans, ABC News reported.
When he tried to claim his refund, he admitted he had bought the cans from a country pub in New South Wales, but claimed he was entitled to $7,000 for the cans.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $4,800 and ordered to forfeit the 45,000 drink containers to the EPA.
Judge Susanne Coles described the man’s actions as ‘dishonest’, ‘planned’, and designed to gain financial advantage in South Australia.
‘It was a dishonest, planned, course of conduct involving the placement of a newspaper advertisement and the sourcing of cans from numerous sources in a deliberate attempt to obtain a financial advantage in South Australia to which the defendant knew he was not entitled,’ she according to a statement provided by the EPA.
The 36-year old Broken Hill man was convicted and fined $4,800 in the Environment Development Court. Pictured are some of the cans that were confiscated from the man.
EPA Manager Investigations Steve Barry said the convictions serve as a warning to those trying to unlawfully claim refunds on containers that are not part of the South Australian container deposit scheme.
‘Attempting to obtain a refund for non-funded containers is not only illegal and dishonest but also threatens the viability of South Australia’s CDL system,’ he said.
South Australia is in its 41st year for its container deposit scheme, while New South Wales only introduced it in December 2017 – more than a year after the man tried to smuggle the containers interstate.
The man arrived at the AAA Recycling in Burton (pictured) in South Australia, in June 2016 with 37 bales and seven bags filled with recycling cans