Reduce, Reuse, Reproduce
Deutsche Welle;
The plan was a simple one, demanding more criminal energy than brainpower: First, manufacture plastic bottles cheaply in eastern Europe and slap a fake bar code on them. Then trek the bottles into Germany, where they fetch 25 euro cents (31 US cents) apiece.
Easier then printing money? Almost. In Germany, empties can be brought to grocery or beverage stores, where they are slipped through modern machines that read the bar code, compute the value of the returns, and spit out a receipt for payment, to be picked up at the nearest cash register.
Three hardworking thieves decided to try doing just such large-scale recycling for a living in September. They brought 150,000 ersatz grape soda bottles, made for a few cents each in Lithuania, to the eastern German state of Schleswig-Holstein and started trying to cash in.
Brussels Journal;
Obviously, there is a flaw in the entire system – even the word “deposit” is misleading. Usually, a deposit is paid for something of value, i.e. an item that the owner would like to have returned. However, the item in question is a non-refundable bottle that cannot be reused. The incentive for criminals stems from the very low production costs – much less than one half of the deposit amount. What typically happens in such a well-intentioned state action is: more instead of fewer bottles are produced; non-refundable bottles are transported across long distances; creative forms of crime are invented.
This is reminiscent of a practice in India, where the government offers a premium for killing venomous snakes if the head of the dead snake is handed in to the authorities. What happened? You guessed it – venomous snake farms.
Posted by Kate at November 17, 2006 12:52 AM
