Environmentalists still trashing the environment

Here's a delightful story (via Rob Fisher, a blog I haven't visited for ages for reasons which entirely escape me).

German greens have persuaded the government there to institute a state-funded deposit scheme for plastic bottles. Trade in your plastic bottle and you get 25 eurocents from the state. Because the bureaucrats have ignored the economics the consequences have been, frankly, completely predictable.

Three hardworking thieves [...] bought 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.

So here we have, ladies and gentlemen, greenery in action. Bottles are made to order in Lithuania, shipped across the border to Germany and are then melted down to make new bottles. 

Lunatics, I tell you, lunatics.

Comments

[Vindico]

This is perhaps the first example i have seen of how environmentalism increases economic activity!! lol.

[Ian Bennett]

According to another story (I've forgotten the source, I'm afraid), someone drove to Austria, bought bottled water in a cheap supermarket, drove home and tipped the water down the drain. He then cashed in the empties and still made a profit.

[Tom R]

hahahaha!
They should've seen that coming