California revises bottle bill regulations

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has revised its regulations to reduce the volume of containers that individuals can redeem daily at recycling centers. The revised regulations, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2014, are designed to combat fraud by individuals and companies who have imported containers from outside California as well as from scavengers who remove containers from curbside programs.

The new per-person, per-day limits are 100 pounds of aluminum or plastic California Redemption Value (CRV)-eligible containers and 1,000 pounds of CRV glass. Previously, the limits were 500 pounds of aluminum or plastic and 2,500 pounds of glass. Aluminum and plastic are the most materials most commonly found in truckloads brought across California’s borders for illegal redemption, CalRecycle says.

CalRecycle says it is undertaking a major and multipronged effort to protect the state’s beverage container recycling fund. Much of the emphasis is on preventing fraud before it occurs.

In addition to the new load limits, two other program changes are pending. One such change would enhance training of recycling center operators. The other supports a new state law requiring importers of out-of-state containers to enter California through California Department of Food and Agriculture inspection stations and comply with reporting and inspection requirements that include providing personal identification at the station and specifying the destination in California where they are taking the containers.