LEGISLATION COULD HELP RESTART CRV PROGRAMS
50 local retailers accepting limited CRV containers for redemption
In the wake of the closure of Humboldt County redemption programs through local waste companies, retailers who sell items with California Refund Value redemption have been either forced to pay a $100 fine to CalRecycle or offer redemption programs in-store.
While Humboldt Waste Management Authority, Recology Humboldt County and Humboldt Sanitation and Recycling remain decertified for CRV programs, there are 50 Humboldt County businesses listed on Cal-Recycle’s website as accepting in-store redemption.
But local waste management experts still hear there are still problems and some companies appear to be skirting the rules.
“In-store redemption centers are able to put some limitation
on the number of containers they can take per customer,” Humboldt Waste Management Authority’s executive director Jill Duffy said Tuesday.
She urged customers to call 1-800-RECYCLE to report companies that are listed as accepting in-store redemption but refuse to take them from customers. She said the retailers have signed affidavits with CalRecycle “agreeing to provide that service” and need to be held accountable.
But retailers accepting redemption might not put a dent in the local need when customers are limited in how many cans they can recycle in a single day.
Duffy said some smaller businesses like gas stations will limit redemption to $2.50, others will cap the number of containers at 50.
“Before people jump up and down and say, ‘That’s not fair,’ “Duffy said, customers need to understand the impact on the retailers. “They have to find a place where they can store the material. They have to find a way to get it to the recycling center. Whether they are taking it to (Crescent City) or (Redding) or Ukiah, I can not speak to that.”
In sharp contrast, companies like the one in Crescent City that accepts CRV containers limit customers to 100 pounds each of plastic and aluminum and 1,000 pounds of glass.
Linda Wise, the general manager of Recology Humboldt County, said Tuesday that local elected officials, as well as state lawmakers, are working to remedy the CRV problem in Humboldt County.
“This is going to be a community effort and a community solution,” she said. “… (Assemblyman Jim) Wood and (Sen. Mike) McGuire along with many of our local electeds have been working really hard on getting legislation passed. The problem is that really in order to keep this from happening again, we need long-term solutions with the bottle bill.”
There are several pieces of legislation that have been proposed to deal with the state’s broken system including one piece by Wood (D-Santa Rosa) that would allow local centers to schedule appointments.
While the bill, if approved, would not go into effect until mid-2022, there is a provision that would allow early implementation of an appointment system in certain conditions.
“The bill would require the department to authorize a certified recycling center or location to operate pursuant to an appointment system only if the department determines that high customer demand, weather, or public health and safety concerns warrant the implementation of an appointment system at the certified recycling center or location, and the certified recycling center or location posts certain information,” the bill states.
“Although the recycling system works fine for many urban centers, it has become a nightmare for many rural areas like Humboldt County,” Wood told the Times-Standard.. “Late last year, I hosted a forum between retailers and CalRecycle in hopes of formulating a solution, but the 1986 law on the books prevents an easy fix. The guidelines are very, very strict and CalRecycle doesn’t believe they have the flexibility to even grant temporary relief. … The system should work for people regardless of where they live in the state.”
A bill that Duffy is excited about from Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) would enact rules similar to those in the mattress industry, which requires the manufacturers and distributors of the products to have plans in place to recover recycled materials.
“This would end in developing a model that would be similar to the state of Oregon and the state of Michigan,” Duffy said. “… The beverage manufacturers would have skin in the game. They would share responsibility for getting that back.”
CalRecycle did not respond to questions about citations and complaints about local CRV activities by the Times-Standard’s publishing deadline Tuesday.
To find a list of retailers who have agreed to accept CRV in Humboldt County, go to https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/ instoreredemption. If local retailers who have signed up to accept CRV are not complying, complaints can be filed by calling 1-800-RECYCLE.