According to an announcement by the California Department of Conservation, Californians recycled 5.8 billion California Refund Value bottles and cans from January to July, the highest six-month figure ever.
"Recycling bottles and cans is one of the many ways Californians can express their commitment to the state's environment and natural resources," said Mike Chrisman, California Secretary for Resources. "It's heartening to see recycling on the rise, and this should serve as a reminder to everyone to recycle where you live, work and play."
Numbers for the first half of the year show recycling is up for aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers. If the trend continues, Californians will recycle more than one billion additional bottles and cans in 2004 than in 2003.
Overall, the recycling rate of CRV containers for the first six months of this year was 63 percent, up from 58 percent for the January-June period last year. By the end of 2003, the recycling rate had fallen to 55 percent, the lowest annual rate since the CRV program began in 1987.
The state attributed the jump to a host of policies, including a higher refund value that took effect the beginning of this year.
California also cited the continuing efforts by the Department of Conservation that have created greater public awareness of the need to recycle and better customer service at thousands of privately owned recycling centers in the state. Also, DOC funding to cities and counties and grants to a variety of entities have resulted in more recycling opportunities, and outreach efforts have increased recycling at private businesses like office buildings and restaurants.
More than 19 billion CRV bottles and cans will be sold in California this year. Containers that aren't recycled represent hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed CRV -- cash that should go back into Californians' pockets. In 2003, some eight billion bottles and cans were thrown away, worth an estimated $300 million in CRV.