Jul 2007

Legislation signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger raised the refund consumers receive from California recycling centers to a nickel for containers less than 24 ounces and a dime for containers 24 ounces and larger. For the next six months, the amount of CRV consumers pay at the store will remain four cents on smaller containers and eight cents on larger ones. “This is a tremendous incentive for Californians to recommit to recycling their beverage containers,” said Bridgett Luther, director of the state Department of Conservation, which oversees the bottle and can recycling program. “By approving this legislation, the governor once again affirms his commitment to the environment, because recycling saves natural resources, saves energy, and reduces the amount of waste going to landfills.”

Since AB 2020 established the state’s recycling program in 1986, more than 160 billion aluminum, glass, and plastic beverage containers have been recycled in the state. In 2005 alone, Californians recycled an all-time record 12.4 billion beverage containers, 61 percent of the 20.5 billion that were purchased in the state.

“If we add together all of the containers that have been recycled since the program began, there are enough to fill up all lanes of Interstate 5 with a wall of bottles and cans 14 feet high, the entire length of the state,” Luther said. Nevertheless, billions of bottles and cans also end up in landfills each year.

“When people fail to recycle, it’s not just a waste of money,” Luther said. “It also means lost energy savings, because recycling saves energy, and those valuable raw materials for manufacturing are tossed away forever.”

Prior to passage of AB 2020 passed in September of 1986, there was no incentive to recycle bottles and cans other than the “scrap value” recycling centers were willing to pay. CRV was introduced in 1987, which allowed Californians to collect one cent for each beverage container recycled. In 1988, Californians recycled 6.1 billion CRV containers.

CRV later increased to 2.5 cents on containers less than 24 ounces and 4 cents on containers 24 ounces and larger. From 1991-2003, Californians averaged more than 10 billion recycled CRV containers per year. When CRV increased to 4 cents (8 cents on larger containers) in 2004, the number jumped to 12 billion recycled.

Most beverages packaged in glass, aluminum and plastic -- such as soft drinks, water, beer, sports drinks, juices and coffee and tea drinks -- are included in the CRV program. Notable exceptions are milk, wine and distilled spirits.