SACRAMENTO – A new plan could bring Californians an extra $100 million in bonus recycling credits and direct $155 million to expand mobile recycling and reverse vending machine locations for consumers to cash in their bottles and cans. The budget proposal would boost redemptions and expand recycling sites using $330 million of surplus unredeemed container deposits that grew with a record increase in beverage purchases during the pandemic.
“This surplus belongs to California consumers and we want to get that money back in their pockets through bonus recycling credits and more convenient redemption options,” CalRecycle Director Rachel Machi Wagoner said. “These targeted investments would create more chances to recycle in areas without recycling centers and offer double California Redemption Value (CRV) refunds to get surplus deposits back to Californians.”
Pandemic beverage sales spike continues to break records
Californians recycled 18.5 billion bottles and cans from July 2020 through June 2021, a roughly 800 million container increase from the previous fiscal year. But sales grew even more during that time as people continued to consume more beverages at home. The new $330 million proposal would use various strategies to reach unserved areas, provide more ways to redeem and offer bonus recycling credits for Californians to cash in their unredeemed bottles and cans
The plan includes:
- $55 million to boost returns in rural and underserved communities with state-funded mobile recycling programs.
- $100 million to add about 2,000 reverse vending machines through grants to high schools, colleges and retailers that are obligated to redeem containers in-store.
- $100 million to double consumer refunds with bonus recycling credits once new mobile recycling and reverse vending machine programs are in place.
- $50 million to maximize the quality of recycled beverage containers to help more get recycled into new beverage containers, required by AB 793 (Ting, Irwin of 2020).
- $25 million for new infrastructure and technology to support redemptions and administration costs.
“Californians want to recycle and they’re doing their part with the return of 18.5 billion bottles and cans last (fiscal) year. That’s a nearly 70 percent recycling rate,” Director Rachel Machi Wagoner said. “We can get closer to 100 percent recycling by giving Californians more redemption options and new opportunities to succeed.”
Additional details were made available today upon release of the Administration’s Spring Finance Letters from the Department of Finance. The Legislature will have the opportunity over the next few months to review this proposal and collaborate with the Administration during the ongoing budget enactment process.
Beverage Container Recycling is a Key to Building California’s Circular Economy
Maximizing the reuse and recycling of all materials sold in California is vital to the state’s larger effort to build a clean, circular-use economy in California. On top of creating new redemption opportunities and jobs across the state, the $330 million in investments of surplus container deposits will help California:
- Meet its 80 percent beverage container recycling goal.
- Provide clean materials to help reach the state’s recycled glass and plastic minimum content goals.
By ensuring that products sold in our state can be collected, recycled and remanufactured in our state, California can meet its waste reduction and climate goals while bringing more green jobs and green industries to our local communities.
At a Glance: California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program
The Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act of 1986 set a financial value on beverage containers to encourage recycling and reduce litter.
- Californians have recycled more than 445 billion bottles and cans since 1986.
- Californians recycled 18 billion (68 percent) CRV beverage containers in 2020.
- AB 1311 (Wood, 2021) provides more flexibility for recyclers to add new ways to redeems and allow more flexible operating rules to help regional challenges.
- Local pilot projects allow communities to design customized takeback programs to meet their region’s unique needs.
- California set the highest plastic minimum recycled content goals in the world, requiring 50 percent recycled plastic in new containers by 2030.
Locate the nearest certified recycling centers or retailers required to redeem CRV deposits in-store. Report issues redeeming CRV at 1-800-RECYCLE or [email protected].
1 comment
“using $330 million of surplus unredeemed container deposits” to fund the proposal.
And why is there such a big surplus? It’s because people are unable to redeem their containers even of they wanted to. California’s largest recycling business, RePlanet, shut down in 2019 and closed 284 recycling centers statewide, trying to recycle your CRV containers became difficult, if not outright impossible due to RePlant being the only recycle center in many given areas.
The issue has existed for years, there was already a hefty surplus of unredeemed CRV deposits prior to the pandemic. CalRecycle needed to address that issue back in 2019, but instead sat on their behinds allowing the unclaimed CRV deposits accumulate to the ridiculous levels they’re reached.
Notice how the article says the 330 million dollars will come from the surplus, but does say whether or not that is the total surplus amount or just part of it? Just how much is the surplus?
Just like the milti-billion dollar budget surplus, the California government loves to spend other people’s money, rather that return it to the rightful owners…. the tax payers.
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