A BROKEN Hill man has been fined for trying to pass off thousands of beverage containers from interstate as South Australian ones — the first conviction under SA’s Container Deposit Legislation.

In a case reminiscent of an episode of the US sitcom Seinfeld, Zane Nervada Smith, 36, was convicted in the Environment Development Court for trying to get a South Australian container deposit refund on out-of-state cans.

In a 1996 episode of Seinfeld, Newman and Kramer collaborate to take empty bottles to Michigan to collect the deposit.

Smith pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $4800.

He was ordered to pay $800 in prosecution costs in addition to the $160 victim of crimes levy.

The court also ordered him to forfeit about 45,000 beverage containers to the Environment Protection Authority, 19,000 of which were in breach of the law.

Senior Judge for the ERD Court Susanne Cole said it was the first time in South Australia a person had been convicted for trying to claim a refund on containers purchased outside of the state.

media_camera In a first, a Broken Hill man has been convicted for trying to pass off cans sourced from interstate as South Australian ones. Picture: Supplied

“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 said.

The EPA was informed of the attempt after the man was turned away from a South Australian collection depot and the incident was reported to them.

EPA Manager Investigations Steve Barry said he hoped the penalties would deter others from trying to game the system. .

The judgment states that Smith arrived at the Burton depot on June 4 2016 with 37 bales, four clear plastic bags, one black garbage bag and two chaff bags full of containers.

Because of the quantity of containers Smith presented, the depot owner told Smith to return the next day so the refund could be assessed.

When told by the depot owner he believed the cans were from outside of South Australia, Smith said he had bought the cans on a per kilo basis from the Wilcannia Pub in NSW and that he should be entitled to a refund of $7000.

The EPA was then notified Smith’s attempt to claim the refund.

In interviews with the EPA, Smith said;

media_camera Some of the interstate cans which a Broken Hill man tried to pass off at recycling depot in SA. Picture: Supplied

SOME of the cans were his own and that he drank approximately 13 beers per day

FOUR bales were given to him by his father,

A FRIEND from Broken Hill had given him up to five bales,

THREE came from the Wilcannia Pub in NSW,

OTHERS came from a friend who manages a club in Mildura Victoria and

SEVERAL packs of 30 cans were given to him by a man who responded to an advertisement placed by Smith in a Broken Hill newspaper on three separate occasions in April 2016, saying “all beer cans, top money paid; don’t tip them, cash them”.

In submissions to the court, Smith said the offending was motivated by the prospect of financial gain, as one of his two children suffers from epilepsy and needs annual review at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

He also said his father was very ill at the time and has since passed away.

EPA Manager Investigations Steve Barry said he hoped the penalties would deter others from trying to game the system.

“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.

“All of the cans have been forfeited to the EPA and the lot of them will be scrapped.”

This was the second conviction relating to a container deposit breach in just over 12 months with a landmark victory recorded in May last year when a number of suburban retailers within the Adelaide metropolitan area were convicted for illegally selling more than 10,000 drinks in containers that did not comply with the legislation.

Under the legislation, clearly marked and authorised containers sold in South Australia, can be claimed for a 10 cent refund.

Beverage suppliers add an extra cost to their product to cover the refund, which can be redeemed at South Australian collection depots when the empty container is returned for recycling.

SA’s container deposit scheme has been in place for 41 years.