A recent report by the California Department of Conservation finds that the container recycling rate in the state droppedsharply last year. According to the agency, the collection level of redeemableplastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers dropped to the lowestpercentage level in a decade.
While officials note the recycling drop is partially dueto an increasing number of products available for redemption, they also pointto research suggesting consumers' habits may be slipping.
The total number of recycled containers, 10.2 billion in2000, has remained fairly stable for the past 10 years. However, last year’snew bottle bill added some 3.4 billion containers to the program. A decline inthe recycling rate was not wholly unexpected, but the size of the drop – from74 percent to 61 percent – came as a surprise. The average recycling rate forthe 1990s was 77 percent.
About 6 billion beverage containers were disposed of last year,according to the California Department of Conservation. These containersrepresented $158 million in possible revenue.
More beverage containers than ever have a redemptionvalue, generally between 2.5 cents and 5 cents, due to a law that took effectJan. 1. The expansion of redeemable products partially explains the dip in therecycling rate, the department said.
California is one of 10 states with a beverage containerrecycling program. The Department of Conservation administers the California BeverageContainer Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, which became law in 1986. Theprimary goal of the act is to achieve and maintain high recycling rates foreach beverage container type included in the program.
Consumers pay California Refund Value when they purchasebeverages from a retailer. The deposits are refunded when empty containers areredeemed through local recycling centers.