Sen. Dodd: Governor Signs Wine, Spirits Bottle Recycling Bill

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 1013 written by President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego, and Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, adding wine and distilled spirits bottles to California’s recycling program.

“This is a big step toward increasing the recycling rates of millions of bottles that would otherwise wind up in our landfills or be illegally discarded,” said Sen. Dodd. “The new law will greatly benefit California and our recycling system. I commend the governor for signing it and industry groups and environmental advocates who came together on this historic legislation."

“With SB 1013, we are finally able to include wine and distilled spirit bottles in the program—and when you consider that California generates half a billion wine and liquor bottles every year, that shows what major progress this legislation is and what an impact it will have,” said Pro Tem Atkins said. “I want to commend the wine industry, distilled spirits industry, environmental advocates, and other groups who worked to improve SB 1013, and I thank the large bipartisan majorities in both houses who voted for it.”

The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, established in 1986, encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers by requiring them to pay a deposit for eligible bottles. According to a 2019 report, curbside programs received approximately $172 million from the so-called Bottle Bill in 2017, including $15 million that is annually provided from the Beverage Container Recycling Fund.

Although the program includes beer, it does not include wine or spirits. It is estimated that California generates more than 500 million wine and spirits bottles each year, with less than 30% being recycled and over 300 million wine and spirits bottles going into landfills. Under Senate Bill 1013, wine and spirits bottles would be added to the program, leading to more recycling, increased business for recycling centers and reduced processing costs. The expansion would also cut greenhouse gas emissions by almost 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide while reducing litter of wine and spirits containers, a visible and dangerous component of urban litter pollution.

SB 1013 was supported by a number of groups including Californians Against Waste, Heal the Bay, California Association of Local Conservation Corps, National Stewardship Action Council, Northern California Recycling Association, California Teamsters Public Affairs Council, The 5 Gyres Institute, the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Wine Institute, Distilled Spirits Council and Zero Waste USA. It had no formal opposition, and passed the Legislature last month with unanimous bipartisan support before being signed by the governor.

“Based on the track record of this program, we know with confidence that this measure will result in more than 250,000 additional tons of glass and plastic being returned for recycling back into new containers,” said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste.  “The producer responsibility requirements and incentives in the California Bottle Bill have averaged 75% or better recycling levels for more than two decades. This is the benchmark by which all other recycling policies and voluntary efforts must be measured.”

###

Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.