I don’t understand how they broke the law?
They brought stuff in to be recycled. They are allowed, by law, to transport items and personal items between states. Specifically, the Interstate Commerce act says that States cannot stop this type of commerce.
How is it fraud to recycle? Why do they punish people for aggressively recycling if it is supposed to save the planet?
Doesn’t make sense.
It's not commerce. It's reclaimng the deposit you paid in the first place. The can isn't necessarily worth 5c, that's just the deposit you put on it.
If you put a deposit down on an item, say to buy. or if you are renting something, you must go back to the place you rented it from in order to reclaim your deposit. You can't return a U-Haul to a Ryder place and demand your deposit back, even if Ryder rents exactly the same kind of truck.