CRV woes frustrate county

The CRV situation in Humboldt County is a losing situation for everyone.

Three major recycling centers in Humboldt County have halted all buyback programs for cans, bottles and glass.

Customers who pay 5 cents per can at the grocery or convenience store have a nearly impossible time getting that fee back.

And businesses — who as of Jan. 31 were asked to choose between taking back recyclable cans and bottles or paying $100 in fines per day — are struggling to comply with state laws.

“It’s a 100% loss either way,” said Graigory Fillmore, the administrative officer for Eureka Natural Foods, which “soft launched” an in-store recycling program Friday. “We really care about the environment and recycling so we will take a hit. … This is going to be an additional strain on our business.”

The store is limiting customers to 50 cans — aluminum only is accepted — per day per person. If the store, which has a McKinleyville and a Eureka location, finds the program doesn’t work for any reason, it would be responsible for fines totally nearly $80,000 per year, enough to cover annual salaries of multiple employees.

Fillmore stressed that the money collected in CRV fees from customers does not go toward the business; it goes to CalRecycle, the state agency that oversees recycling programs. Every $2.50 worth of cans the business redeems comes from the business, not CalRecycle, and the cans will then be put in the business’ recycle bin.

’50 CRV retailers’ locally

“50 CRV beverage retailers in Humboldt County are now obligated to redeem CRV containers in-store,” Maria West, the communications director of CalRecycle, told the Times-Standard in an email.

Those 50 retailers, who are listed on the CalRecycle website, have submitted affidavits stating

they will accept CRV containers for redemption.

But the reality on the ground in Humboldt County is a very different picture. The Times-Standard attempted to call all 50 of the retailers and talked to employees. Of the 50 retailers, which range from small locally owned shops to corporate-branded stores, employees at 22 retailers said “no,” they don’t actually redeem CRV; 15 retailers said they do accept CRV redemption; and at the remaining stores, the employees either did not know or did not respond to calls. One store on the list appears to be out of business completely, and at least two have different names than what is listed on the CalRecycle website.

Is there a penalty for those businesses that have signed affidavits for CRV

buyback but are not actually doing the service? CalRecycle says there could be, but there are not at the moment.

“To date, CalRecycle has received a number of complaints from Californians in the Humboldt area citing the failure of obligated CRV beverage dealers to fulfill their legal obligations to redeem,” West said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created a difficult situation for recycling centers, business owners and all Californians. Most of the retailers in the Humboldt area just became obligated to redeem on Jan. 31, 2021, and have not been inspected yet due to COVID travel restrictions. However, as California opens up and allows safe travel, CalRecycle is prioritizing inspections and enforcement in places like Humboldt that have been hardest hit by COVID’s impact on redemption opportunities.”

Opting out

There are some larger retailers who cannot be found on the CalRecycle list. Those companies that sell CRV beverage containers are obligated to pay the $100-per-day fine. For example, notably missing are bigbox stores like Walmart and Target. Winco is also not on the list.

Local retailer Wildberries is also absent and is paying the $100-per-day fines, said Aaron Gottschalk, the store’s general manager.

“We are here to sell groceries,” he said. “… We are not a recycling center. We felt it was a risk to the safety and sanitation of our store. We just knew we couldn’t do it.”

He added that the store is environmentally conscious and wants to be doing “the right thing.”

Recycling centers

The three major companies that handle recycling have not operated CRV buyback since the beginning of the pandemic — aside from a few days in September 2020 when Humboldt Waste Management Authority opened up to accept cans and bottles. The result was a lineup of cars that vastly exceeded what the Hawthorne Street transfer station could handle. It also created a massive traffic jam.

Since then, the HWMA has lost its certification to run a buyback program. The Eureka Recycling Center, Humboldt Sanitation, Recology Fortuna, the Redway Transfer Station and New River Recycling in Eureka are all either closed or decertified.

CalRecycle’s website notes there is a recycling center in Willow Creek, but it cannot handle the same volumes as the other recycling centers. Tom’s Trash owner Josh McKnight said he is on the brink of closing the business, partly due to declining recycling values and partly out of worries related to the pandemic. He said his employees have not been vaccinated.

“To be honest, we might be shutting down shortly,” he told the Times-Standard. “… With the value dropping, it puts us on the edge.”

He added that if there were a surge of customers seeking to redeem bottles and cans, he would simply close his doors. His center is aimed at serving those in the Willow Creek area, not the whole county.

Legislative agenda

North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood introduced a bill earlier this year that could help recycling centers like HWMA reopen in a more-controlled manner by scheduling appointments.

“People in rural counties like Humboldt are suffering under the constraints of the current CalRecycle program and the closure of many recycling

centers,” said Wood. “Here we are again faced with a one-size-fits-all program that leaves the challenges of rural areas behind. My bill, AB 1311, is currently being drafted to push the limits of current law to allow, for instance, recycling by appointment.”

Meanwhile, local residents are stuck with bags of recycling filling garages because most local stores won’t take more than 50 cans.

“What I think that people might not know is that recycling has not stopped,” Humboldt Recology’s Linda Wise told the Times-Standard recently. “… I constantly hear people saying ‘when is recycling coming back?’ Recycling is always happening. … Things can still be recycled. They can be put into the blue can. The only difference is the nickel isn’t coming back.”