Oregon Woman Steals Cases Of Water So She Can Recycle Bottles

KDRV-TV in Medford is reporting a woman is facing theft charges over multiple cases of water. But it's what she DID with the cases that's raising eyebrows.

Sunday, Medford police reported Tabitha Mobbs was taken into custody after she admitted stealing $40 worth of bottled water from what some sources say was a local Albertson's store.

 According to KDRV, Mobbs admitted she stole the water so she could empty the bottles, then recycle them for $.10 per bottle.  Most 24 bottle cases range anywhere from $5 to $10, depending upon the brand and if they're flavored etc. The TV station posted a video from an onlooker, showing the dumping and recycling.

Using the low end, $5, that would be 8-9 cases worth of water she took. That's 192 bottles. Oregon recyclers pay $.10 per bottle for plastic recycling. That means she would have netted about $20.00 in her pocket. That's a LOT of work just to get some cash.

Some officials say since Oregon doubled it's price paid for recycling April 1st, from $.5 to $.10 cents per bottle, they've already seen some issues pop up. Some wonder if similar incidents will happen, now that somebody's actually tried it.

Others liken it to when copper prices went through the roof in the last year or two, and people in Washington and Oregon, especially farmers, saw equipment thefts skyrocket from people searching for the valuable metal. They would then recycle it for cash.