An Alberta recycling company that appealed a nearly $845,000 fine it received for illegally cashing in on out-of-province beverage containers will now have to pay a higher fine than originally expected.
In its Aug. 18 decision, the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board said Johnny Ha and Shawn Diep of Alberta Reclaim and Recycling Inc. would now be responsible for paying a fine of $871,928 – an increase of $27,150 – due to calculation errors in the original assessment.
The Alberta duo received the original fine in February 2015 for illegally transporting beverage containers into Alberta and collecting refunds on them. More than eight million bottles were brought into Alberta from the Yukon between January 2012 and January 2013, according to documents filed with the Environmental Appeals Board.
READ MORE: Alberta recycling company to appeal $845K fine for cashing in on out-of-province containers
The EAB said the containers were purchased from Raven Recycling in Whitehorse and then shipped to a location in Edmonton in large bails where they were disassembled, sorted and brought to the Andrew Bottle Depot for return.
The number of containers processed through the Andrew Bottle Depot between January 2012 and January 2013 increased more than 10 times, according to the EAB documents.
While the recycling company appealed the original decision and the fine, the EAB found there was “a clear intention” on the part of Ha and Diep “to defraud the recycling system.”
“Their behaviour did not demonstrate they appreciated the seriousness of the contraventions to the beverage container recycling system,” the appeals board’s decision read.
At the July hearing, He and Diep admitted they committed the offences and were liable for the penalty. The board then had to determine if the penalty and economic benefit assessments were reasonable.
The board decided to uphold the classification on each of the offences as being “major offences with major impacts on the environment.”
As a result, Diep will be responsible for paying $499,678. Ha has been fined $372,250. The appeals board said the fines were based on how long each of the men were sole directors of Alberta Reclaim and Recycling Inc.