California, USA
Model Beverage Container
Recycling System

By Rick Best
Sacramento, CA
Phone: 916-319-2367

Updated September 11, 2001

TITLE
Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act - AB 2020 (Margolin, 1986)

OVERVIEW
The California Bottle Bill program represents a significant departure from traditional deposit programs. Containers are redeemed at recycling centers rather than retail stores and deposits are handled through a state-managed fund rather than by bottlers. The program removes bottlers from the responsibility of managing the system and significantly reduces the overall costs of the program by eliminating the need for retailers to sort containers by brand and by allowing materials to be compacted and handled with other recyclable materials. The program has garnered the support of environmentalists, private recyclers, local governments, and retailers and minimized opposition from the beverage industry, the traditional opponent of deposit programs.

IMPORTANT LINKS
California Department of Conservation, Division of Recycling, administers the
California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act. [off-site]

GOALS
The program does not have any specified goals; however, the original law did contain a provision for increasing the deposit amount from 2.5 cents to 5 cents for any material (aluminum, glass, plastic or bimetal) which failed to reach a 65% recycling rate by June 30, 1992.

The program has achieved the following recycling rates since its inception:

	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Aluminum	61	64	76	85	85	84	82	80	80	80	80	80	76
Glass	35	40	57	71	72	75	73	74	69	67	63	60	54
PET Plastic	4	7	31	56	68	70	71	64	59	58	57	65	34
Bimetal	0.2	2	3	14	12	19	17	21	17	19	13	11	1
TOTAL	52	56	70	80	82	81	79	81	76	76	74	74	61

RESPONSIBILITIES

Stakeholder		Responsibilities
Beverage Industry	Manufacturers	Manufacturers have no responsibility for managing the program. They are only required to pay a processing fee for container types with a net cost for recycling (glass and plastic).
	Distributors	Distributors have no responsibility for managing the program. They are only required to handle deposits (CRV) paid by the public through retailers to the state.
State Government		The California Department of Conservation administers the overall program, including handling CRV through distributors and processors, handling processing fees/payments through distributors and processors, overseeing compliance by recycling programs and addressing fraud, issuing grants to local governments and non-profits, and conducting public education and outreach.
Recycling Industry	Distributors	Distributors handle deposits, processing fees and other funds paid by the state to recyclers.
	Oldline Recyclers	Oldline recyclers are the primary handlers of deposit materials. They represent the traditional scrap recycling industries.
	Convenience Zone Recyclers	Convenience zone recyclers are located in supermarket parking lots to provide a convenient opportunity to recycle when oldline recyclers do not exist.
	Curbside Recyclers	Local agencies (or their haulers) which administer curbside recycling programs are eligible for funding through this program.
Retailers		Retailers have no responsibility for managing the program, unless there is no recycling center located within the convenience zone of their store. Retailers collect CRV from consumers which is paid to distributors.

BEVERAGE CONTAINERS TARGETED
As originally drafted under AB 2020 (Margolin, 1986) the program included most carbonate beverages, including soft drinks, beer and wine coolers. The program was expanded by which added wine coolers. The program was expanded by SB 486 (Sher, 1999) expanded the program to include virtually all non-carbonated beverages, including juices, waters, and noncarbonated soft drinks. Essentially the program now includes all carbonated and noncarbonated beverages except milk, wine and liquor. The program includes all material types except aseptic juice containers.

FLOW OF FUNDS
The Department of Conservation has produced an excellent graphic [pdf][off-site] showing the flow of funds in the program.

The follow is a summary of the key fund components:

Contact Us	© Zero Waste USA © Archive maintained by Laughter On Water	Search