Bottle and can recycling represents a rare retail offering that everybody needs, and by which you actually get money; still, up until now, we’ve treated bottle and can recycling like that embarrassing uncle that you wish you didn’t have to invite over for Thanksgiving.
We hide it behind grocery stores, or relegate it to “scrap yards”, or charge you for curbside pickup service so you just don’t have to deal with it. Meanwhile, the state has increased California Redemption Value rates substantially: aluminum cans are worth a minimum of $1.54 per pound, and #1 plastic bottles start at $.93 per pound, which is the equivalent of a nickel each for aluminum cans or plastic or glass bottles (and twice that for containers of 24 or more ounces). This is the same money you pay into the CRV fund for each qualifying beverage you purchase: when you put bottles and cans on the curbside, you are paying for the removal service, and then you are allowing your waste hauler to recoup the premium that you paid for those containers.
The state took another huge, if under-publicized step, by implementing co-mingled recycling rates: now you can get paid for NON-CRV containers like wine bottles, liquor bottles, and food jars, when they are mixed with CRV containers. For example, wine bottles are worth around fifteen cents each when they’re mixed (50/50) with CRV containers like juice bottles or beer bottles, even though you didn’t pay any CRV for them. The upshot of this program is that you can actually get paid for almost everything you might currently be leaving for your waste hauler.
If reverse-retail recycling has traditionally seemed like more trouble than it’s worth, we implore you to rethink your assumptions. Try to make recycling part of your shopping routine, to hopefully pick up another twenty bucks or so every other time you go grocery shopping, or as part of your trip to your favorite home improvement retailer, or maybe before you endure the agony of filling up your tank. With CRV rates at all-time highs, the state is all-but daring you to reclaim your money.
If your local recycling center treats you like an afterthought, try to find one that appreciates your business and treats you accordingly. In this day and age, there is no reason why you shouldn’t expect the same treatment from your recycling center as you do from any other retail offering. Hopefully, if you spend some time getting to know that embarrassing uncle, you might learn to appreciate him, or at least you’ll be able to tolerate him a little more when he’s cramming money into your pocket.
Josh Turchin is third generation in the recycling business, and is President of One Earth Recycling. Find out more at www.OneEarthRecycling.com.