California may add wine, liquor bottles to recycling list

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California would add wine and distilled spirits containers to its struggling recycling program, while giving beverage dealers another option to collect empty bottles and cans, under a measure lawmakers approved Wednesday. But critics say the bill would also give hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations they say don’t need the incentives.

It’s “a huge opportunity” to divert hundreds of additional tons of waste from landfills, said Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting, who carried the bill in the Assembly. “This bill will be a huge leap.”

In addition, dealers could form a cooperative organization to collect the containers as an alternative to the current law that requires stores to take back the empties, under the proposal by Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins.

Fewer people have been able to claim their deposit refunds in recent years as many neighborhood recycling centers closed. The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has said many grocery stores have been refusing to take back empties in-store as required.

The measure will have an effective date of July 1, 2024, if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the bill into law.

California consumers pay a nickel each time they buy a 12-ounce bottle or can, and a dime for containers over 24 ounces.

They’re supposed to get that money back by returning the bottles and cans, an incentive so the containers don’t go into landfills but can be recycled into new products.

The proposal would include a 25-cent deposit and refund for wine and distilled spirits sold in a box, bag or pouch.

Hawaii, Iowa, Maine and Vermont already have deposit programs including those containers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.