California

Name

California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (AB 2020)

Purpose

To encourage recycling and reduce litter. Program goal of 80% recycling rate.

Enacted

9/29/1986

Implemented

9/1/1987

Regulations

California Public Resources Code, Division 12.1

Beverages Covered

Beer and malt beverages
Wine coolers & distilled spirits coolers
All non-alcoholic beverages, except milk. Includes 100% fruit juices over 46oz, and vegetable juices over 16 oz.
Wine and spirits

Beverages Not Covered

Milk
Beverages in refillable containers

Containers Covered

Aluminum, glass, plastic and bi-metal. Exempts refillables.

Amount of Deposit

< 24 oz: 5¢
≥ 24 oz: 10¢
Wine and distilled spirits in a box, bladder, pouch, or similar container: 25¢

Reclamation System

State-certified recyclers include redemption centers, registered curbside operations, dropoff sites, and retailers (see "Retail redemption" section below).

Unredeemed Deposits

Property of state program (CalRecycle): used for program administration, program payments, and grants.

Handling Fees

Handling fees are paid by CalRecycle to specific handling fee sites. Handling fee effective July 1, 2024 is $0.01158 per beverage container redeemed [1].

Other Fees

	Processing fees*	Processing payments**
Effective	January 1, 2024	July 1, 2024
Material	Per container	Per pound	Per ton
Aluminum:	n/a	n/a	n/a
Glass:	$0.00576	$ 0.10623	$ 212.47
#1 PET:	$0.00110	$ 0.27601	$ 552.02
#2 HDPE:	$0.00697	$ 0.37850	$ 757.00
#3 PVC:	$0.05300	$ 0.79095	$ 1,581.90
#4 LDPE:	$0.01794	$ 1.12624	$ 2,252.49
#5 PP:	$0.05952	$ 0.99806	$ 1,996.12
#6 PS:	$0.00406	$ 0.62558	$ 1,251.16
#7 Other Plastic:	$0.14368	$ 0.68526	$ 1,370.52
Bimetal:	$0.05088	$ 0.62618	$ 1,252.35
* Processing fees are paid by beverage manufacturers to CalRecycle, per container sold. [2]
** Processing payments are made by CalRecycle to all certified recyclers when the cost of recycling exceeds the value of material, per ton redeemed. [3]

Program Success

Redemption rates:*

Calendar Year**	Aluminum	Glass	#1 PET	#2 HDPE	Overall***
2023	66%	43%	61%	36%	59%
2022	67%	58%	62%	49%	61%
2021	66%	41%	61%	33%	61%
2020	69%	44%	60%	38%	62%
2019	74%	45%	66%	43%	67%
2018	76%	47%	63%	41%	66%
2017	81%	49%	64%	41%	68%
2016	86%	50%	68%	48%	72%
2015	91%	51%	66%	47%	72%
2014	91%	57%	60%	61%	71%
2013	92%	61%	61%	35%	74%

* Returned for refund at recycling centers and supermarket sites; excludes CRV containers recycled through curbside and dropoff programs.

**Figures above are derived by multiplying fiscal year material-specific recycling rates by calendar year material-specific weight-based participant shares for recycling centers and supermarkets [4].

***Overall redemption rate is the FY overall recycling rate multiplied by calendar year material-specific unit-based participant shares ("CRV out") [5].

The recycling rates shown below are from data published by CalRecycle [6]. Approximately 88% of the CRV beverage containers recycled were redeemed for a refund at redemption centers or retail stores, while about 12% were recycled via curbside and dropoff programs.

Calendar Year	Aluminum	Glass	#1 PET	#2 HDPE	Other	Overall
2023	74%	63%	71%	56%	16%	71%
2022	74%	64%	70%	55%	17%	70%
2021	73%	64%	66%	53%	14%	68%
2020*	73%	59%	68%	54%	16%	68%
2019	81%	67%	74%	68%	18%	75%
2018	83%	66%	74%	65%	19%	76%
2017	84%	69%	73%	64%	18%	75%
2016	91%	72%	76%	64%	17%	80%

% of All Beverages Sold That Are Covered By Deposit

88% [7]

Details

Distributors pay a per container refund value (CRV) of 5¢ <24 oz and 10¢ >24 oz into a state fund. In 2022, the fee was changed to include 25¢ for wine and distilled spirits in a box, bladder, pouch, or a similar container beginning in January 2024. The fee was originally 1¢ for all containers and was amended in 1990 to 2.5¢ <24 oz and 5¢ >24 oz. In 2003 it was amended again to 4¢ and 8¢ respectively, and in 2007 to 5¢ and 10¢.

Consumers pay a deposit and receive a refund of 5¢ for each container < 24 ounces, 10¢ for each container >24 ounces. Beginning January 1, 2024, consumers pay a deposit and receive a refund of 25¢ for wine and distilled spirits in a box, bladder, pouch, or a similar container.

Consumers have the right to be paid per container or by weight. Consumers may redeem up to 50 containers per material type. Some recyclers, at their discretion, may redeem more. If the recycler declines to pay by count for more than 50 containers per material type per visit, payment is based on the weight of the materials delivered for redemption. Consumers may redeem 100 pounds each of aluminum and plastic, and 1,000 pounds of glass per day.

Handling fees are paid to the operators of supermarket redemption sites, rural redemption sites, and non-profit recycling centers to help cover the costs of operating their redemption system. Handling fees are calculated every two years by subtracting the cost per container (for recycling centers that do not receive handling fees) from the cost per container of those that do receive handling fees [8].

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 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 [9].

Processing fees are a specific percentage of the processing payment, determined by the recycling rate of the container type. Beverage distributors pay the processing fee into the recycling fund [10].

Retail redemption: generally speaking, full-line retailers ("beverage dealers") who sell a variety of groceries with gross annual sales of $2 million or more are required to redeem beverage containers on site (in-store or in the parking lot) unless there is a state-certified redemption center* located in a convenience zone consisting of the area of a half-mile radius around the store, or a 3-mile radius in rural areas. A retailer/dealer in an unserved convenience zone (one without a functioning redemption center) may choose, after a 60-day grace period, to pay CalRecycle $100 per day in lieu of redeeming containers on site or establishing a redemption center in the convenience zone. For more detail on retailer/dealer requirements and exemptions, please visit the CalRecycle website [11].

SB 353, signed by the Governor on October 13, 2023, recently changed the California beverage container recycling system. The bill will:

add deposits on all 100% fruit juice and vegetable juice containers (starting 01/01/2025)
give CalRecycle the direction to base processing payments on the average scrap value from the preceding three months, or the prior 12-month average, whichever is lower
require new processing payments to be applied to boxes, bladders, pouches, or similar beverage containers that hold wines and spirits
invest funding in rural recycling centers by requiring transportation, operations, and logistics payments - in addition to a processing payment - for glass containers until January 1, 2030. [12]

* Redemption centers, termed "recycling centers" by CalRecycle, may be operated by individuals, for-profit businesses, or non-profit organizations.

Importance of CA program nationally

Since implementation of the deposit program, California's overall beverage container recycling rates have increased significantly: from 52% in 1988 to 75% in 2019. The number of CRV containers recycled increased from 13 billion in 2006 to more than 18.4 billion in 2019. These containers comprise over 20% of all the bottles and cans recycled nationally (90 billion) in 2019. In other words, 1 out of 5 beverage containers recycled in the United States comes from California's deposit program.

Footnotes

[1] "Handling Fee Changes, Effective July 1, 2023.” CalRecycle. June 9, 2023.

[2] "2023 Processing Fees." CalRecycle. December 16, 2022.

[3] "2023 Processing Payments." CalRecycle. June 15, 2023.

[4] Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Program Fact Sheets with "participant share" data are published annually. Link to 2019 Fact Sheet. Links to fact sheets for 2018, 2017, 2016.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Reported recycling rates sourced as follows:

2021: "Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates." CalRecycle. April 26, 2022.

2020: "Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns,Redemption, and Recycling Rates," CalRecycle. May 10, 2021.

2019 and 2018: "Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates." CalRecycle. May 11, 2020.

2017: "Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates." CalRecycle. December 19, 2019.

2016: "Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates." CalRecycle. November 7, 2018.

[7] "2021 Beverage Market Data Analysis." Container Recycling Institute. 2024.

[8] See Footnote 1.

[9] "2018 Processing Fee Cost Survey, Final Report." CalRecycle, June 1, 2020 and "2019 Processing Payments." CalRecycle. December 16, 2019.

[10] See Footnote 2.

[11] "Retailers/Dealers" section of CalRecycle Beverage Containers website.