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Michigan Officials Bust Bottle-Deposit Fraud Ring (straight out of a "Seinfeld")
FOX News/AP ^

Posted on 09/28/2007 11:58:39 AM PDT by nuconvert

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To: Yo-Yo

Let’s see:

1. Something that someone pays 10 cents a pound for is worth 10 cents a pound, even if that someone is the STUPID governmnt of Michigan.

2. You seem to be under the impression that aluminium cans come with a passport or something. Aluminium is a commodity and does not have a locality attached to it.


41 posted on 09/28/2007 12:48:46 PM PDT by JLS
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To: IronJack
Is there a specific law that prohibits this endeavor?

Mark my words if there isn't there will be by Monday.

42 posted on 09/28/2007 12:51:36 PM PDT by ninonitti
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To: ozzymandus
I don’t know how this works. Do you have to pay an extra 10 cents every time you buy a can of pop in MI?

Yes.

Do you have to take the can to the store where you bought it to get the “deposit” back?

No, but you must take it to a store that sells that brand. For example, you cannot redeem "Sam's Choice" cans at Kroger.

What about pop machines? Where do you take those cans?

To any store that sells that brand.

And how do they know where you bought the can?

If you buy the can in Michigan it will say "ME-VT-CT-MA-NY-OR-IA 5 Cents, MI 10 Cents, CA Cash Refund."

This is way too complicated for an empty aluminum can.

It's been working for 30 years here, and it has kept the roadsides clean. Searching for discarded pop cans and bottles gives our homeless something to do.

43 posted on 09/28/2007 12:52:15 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (USAF, TAC, 12th AF, 366 TFW, 366 MG, 366 CRS, Mtn Home AFB, 1978-81)
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To: Slings and Arrows

The crimefighters in Michigan are on the job.


44 posted on 09/28/2007 12:53:18 PM PDT by Kevmo (We should withdraw from Iraq — via Tehran. And Duncan Hunter is just the man to get that job done.)
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To: Yo-Yo
It's been working for 30 years here, and it has kept the roadsides clean.

Detroit looks like a toilet, but by gum, the roadsides are clean.

45 posted on 09/28/2007 12:54:41 PM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Still Championship U)
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To: All

$500,000 !

They had 1/2 million on used cans!


46 posted on 09/28/2007 12:56:30 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Yo-Yo
Its not a recycling program buying aluminum in bulk. It is the administration of a ten cents per can deposit program that has been in effect in Michigan since 1976.

So in effect it's not even a deposit program but a sin tax on purchasers of canned and bottle drinks. A revenue stream for big gubment to wallow in.

47 posted on 09/28/2007 12:57:42 PM PDT by ninonitti
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To: varyouga
There’s no notice that you can’t use out of state cans anywhere. I can’t believe there is an actual law against this.

If the cans are identical I'd demand they prove the cans weren't bought there. How the hell can they possibly do that?

48 posted on 09/28/2007 12:57:57 PM PDT by BearCub
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To: JLS
Let’s see:

1. Something that someone pays 10 cents a pound for is worth 10 cents a pound, even if that someone is the STUPID governmnt of Michigan.

Let's see. It's not ten cents a pound, it is ten cents a can. Ten cents that has theoretically been collected at the time of sale, and theoretically returned at the time of redemption. If the deposit was never paid, then redeeming that deposit is fraud and is illegal.

2. You seem to be under the impression that aluminium cans come with a passport or something. Aluminium is a commodity and does not have a locality attached to it.

You seem to be under the impression that the State of Michigan is paying all comers for whatever aluminum they happen to bring along, be it cans, used foil, or a 747 wing.

As a matter of fact, cans eligible for deposit redemption does come with a passport of sorts. It is stamped right on the can if it is eligible for the deposit program. Cans bought in states without a deposit program do not have that stamp. Redeeming cans without a stamp is fraud.

We aren't talking about bags of shredded Boeing 747s here. Stores crush the cans they have redeemed to reduce the storage bulk, then return those bags to the state, who weigh the bags of crushed cans to determine the count inside the bags. That's all. Not too hard to comprehend.

This group had someone on the inside of a store to accept bags of crushed cans, who then turned them into the State for reimbursement, which is commiting fraud.

The State does NOT accept bags of crushed cans from the general public, only from retailers.

Clearer now?

49 posted on 09/28/2007 1:05:30 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (USAF, TAC, 12th AF, 366 TFW, 366 MG, 366 CRS, Mtn Home AFB, 1978-81)
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To: drc43

So, of course Michigan will now discard these millions of cans since it doesn’t belong there. I wonder where the state of Michigan will dispose of them? After all, they will get their half million back.


50 posted on 09/28/2007 1:08:34 PM PDT by BerryDingle (Illegitimi Non Carborundum)
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To: dfwgator
Detroit looks like a toilet, but by gum, the roadsides are clean.

You'll get no argument from me! There's more to Michigan than Detroit, just as there is more to California than just Los Angeles.

51 posted on 09/28/2007 1:08:56 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (USAF, TAC, 12th AF, 366 TFW, 366 MG, 366 CRS, Mtn Home AFB, 1978-81)
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To: BearCub; varyouga
If you really want to know, read this.
52 posted on 09/28/2007 1:11:08 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (USAF, TAC, 12th AF, 366 TFW, 366 MG, 366 CRS, Mtn Home AFB, 1978-81)
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To: BerryDingle
Your cynical and unecessary sarcasm aside, the bottle law works pretty well as intended. As I said, I was against it till I saw it in action.

It is not a perfect world, but this seems a positive step

53 posted on 09/28/2007 1:11:35 PM PDT by drc43 (Defeat is within our grasp... Nancy Pelosi)
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To: BerryDingle

We still recycle other forms of aluminum.


54 posted on 09/28/2007 1:11:43 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (USAF, TAC, 12th AF, 366 TFW, 366 MG, 366 CRS, Mtn Home AFB, 1978-81)
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To: dfwgator

How much does the state of Michigan pay for all of the burned-out junked automobiles I see on the highways around Detroit? Must not be very much at all.


55 posted on 09/28/2007 1:15:07 PM PDT by geezerwheezer (get up boys, we're burnin' daylight!!!)
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To: nuconvert

Seinfeld makes $60 million a year on rebroadcast royalties.


56 posted on 09/28/2007 1:16:25 PM PDT by RightWhale (25 degrees today. Phase state change accomplished.)
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To: Kevmo; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...
Your tax dollars at work.


57 posted on 09/28/2007 1:23:30 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows ("Be deranged in a consistent manner. Manson was nuts, but at least he was always on message." --dead)
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To: ozzymandus

Yes, you have to pay .10 for every can or bottle of carbonated beverage. Water and tea have no deposit although they are thinking of adding it. You may take them back to any store providing that store sells that brand of pop.

It works OK and really did serve to keep the streets and beaches clean.

Pop machines just factor the deposit into the cost of the pop.


58 posted on 09/28/2007 1:41:17 PM PDT by cyclotic (Support Scouting-Raising boys to be men, and politically incorrect at the same time.)
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To: drc43

If nothing else, the bottle deposit law has served to really clean up these areas.

It beats being a responsible citizen and picking up your @rap.


59 posted on 09/28/2007 2:16:29 PM PDT by Bitsy
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To: grellis

ping


60 posted on 09/28/2007 2:24:33 PM PDT by raygun (Boy that Catch-22 is a pretty big catch. Yep, its the best that there is.)
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