A man who joked about recycling as he dumped a fridge over a cliff was ordered to go down and retrieve it by hand.
Video footage shows the man hurling the fridge into a ravine in Almeria, southeast Spain, as he and his companion say: “Let’s go recycling!”
Spanish law enforcement shared the clip of the unidentified man on the AUGC Guardia Civil Twitter account.
The offender was subsequently identified by police and fined around £41,320 (€45,000) for the offence.
He was also ordered to return to the scene and collect the fridge to dispose of it correctly, the Guardia Civil tweeted.
In a follow-up video posted by police, the man – named only as Mario – and a friend can be seen struggling to haul the appliance back up the cliff.
A spokesperson for the civil guard told CNN a court would now decide whether Mario would face further fines for "environmental crime".
In his first interview following the incident, the young man told El Español he had been treated “worse than murderers and thieves” by the media.
He said he had lost his job as a result of the coverage and been forced to move out of his home temporarily due to constant hounding by the press.
“I just want people to see how sorry I am and for them to stop viewing me as though I were a murderer,” the former home appliance worker said.
A spokesman for his ex-employer said he was “shocked” at what had happened.
However, the company could face a fine of up to £275,500 (€300,000) if authorities rule that it hasn’t been adequately disposing of old appliances, according to El Español.
