LOS ANGELES –  Rampant fraud within California's recycling redemption program is costing the state millions of dollars, as scammers drive trucks full of cans across the border from Nevada and Arizona to collect nickels on deposits that were never paid.

California recyclers also are claiming redemptions for the same containers several times, or for containers that never existed, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.

Government officials recently estimated the fraud at $40 million a year, and an industry expert told the newspaper it could exceed $200 million. The state's $1.1 billion recycling fund paid out $100 million more in expenses last year than it took in from deposits and other sources, the Times said.

More than 8.5 billion recyclable cans were sold in California last year and some 8.3 billion were redeemed for a nickel, making for an improbable return rate of nearly 100 percent. The Times said the recycling rate for certain plastic containers was even higher: 104 percent.

"The law says California has to make it easy to recycle... so anyone with a devious mind, it's so easy, they can just go right in," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Chapman told the newspaper. Chapman has investigated several recycling fraud rings in recent months.

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