California

Details

1. Distributors pay a per container fee (CRV) of 5¢ <24 oz and 10¢ >24 oz into a state fund. (The fee was originally 1¢ for all containers and was amended in 1990 to 2.5¢<24 oz and 5¢>24 oz, in 2003 to 4¢ and 8¢, and in 2007 to 5 and 10¢.)
2. Consumers pay a deposit of 5¢ for each container < 24 ounces and 10¢ for each container >24 ounces.
3. In turn, they receive a refund of 5¢ for each container of less than 24 ounces redeemed, and 10¢ for each container of 24 ounces or greater redeemed.

Consumers have the right to be paid per container when bringing in 50 (fifty) containers or less in a single load. Some recyclers, at their discretion, may redeem more than 50 containers by count. If the recycler declines to pay by count for >50 containers presented per visit, payment is based on the weight of the materials delivered for redemption.

Handling fees are paid to the operators of supermarket redemption sites only, to help cover the costs of operating a redemption system at those locations. Handling fees are calculated every 2 years, by subtracting the cost per container (for recycling centers that do not receive handling fees) from the costs per container of those that do receive handling fees.

Processing payments are paid to all redemption centers and to curbside programs to help cover the costs of recycling materials with a low scrap value. Processing Payment amounts vary by container type and are determined annually, based on based on audited data and scrap market prices. Part of the processing payments are supplied by distributors' processing fees, but the majority of processing payments come from unredeemed deposits. Unredeemed deposits are also used to administer the system and fund education programs.

Processing Fee amounts are a specific percentage of the Processing Payment, determined based on the recycling rate of the container type. Beverage distributors pay the "processing fee" into the recycling fund.[b]

Program success

Since implementation of the deposit program, California's beverage container recycling rates have increased significantly, from an overall 52% in 1988 to 85% in 2013. In the eight years from 2006 to 2013 alone, the program has increased recycling from 13 billion containers per year to more than 18.2 billion containers per year.[a] Because California is so large, that increase, of 5.2 billion containers, has an impact on the nation’s beverage container recycling rate as well. The 18.2 billion containers recycled in California are nearly 21% of the 88.2 billion containers that are recycled nationally each year. 1 out of 5 beverage containers recycled in the USA are recycled in California.