Sen. Dodd’s Juice Bottle Recycling Bill Advances

SACRAMENTO – Legislation from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would add large juice bottles to California’s recycling program, reducing the amount of plastic and glass going into landfills and helping to stabilize the recycling market, passed a key committee today.

“Today we take a big step toward reducing our waste stream and uplifting our recycling program,” Sen. Dodd said. “Not only does this bill cut the amount of garbage we put into the ground but it provides a financial lifeline to recyclers and processors by maximizing their options for redeeming deposits on beverage containers. Ultimately, this bill will help us meet our recycling goals.”

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. Over the years, the program has been expanded to include soda, beer and wine bottles. However, it does not include 46-ounce or larger juice bottles, contributing to a drop in the annual scrap valuations that threaten the state program and many smaller recyclers, especially in underserved communities.

Sen. Dodd’s proposal, Senate Bill 353, would add any size container of 100% fruit juice to the state’s bottle recycling law. It would also authorize the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adjust its processing of payments to recyclers to a quarterly schedule rather than yearly, helping to stabilize the market.

SB 353 follows the Legislature’s passage of a bill authored last year by Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins and Sen. Dodd to add wine and spirits containers to the program and make significant investments in recycling. SB 353, which is supported by recyclers and manufactures, cleared the Senate’s Environmental Quality committee with overwhelming support.

“This measure will increase consumer opportunities to recycle and get cash back on empty containers, by making common sense updates to the CRV program, said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. “All juice beverages, regardless of container size, will now have a refund, and recycling payments for new and existing recycling centers will be stabilized against scrap market fluctuations.”

“As the stewardship organization for plastic containers in California’s Bottle bill, we commend the senator expanding the bottle bill to include all juice bottles and to make the system more responsive to market forces,” said Sally Houghton, executive director of Plastic Recycling Corporation of California. “This will help get more containers recycled and turned back into bottles in a cost-effective manner.”

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Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Yolo, Sonoma, Solano, Sacramento and Contra Costa counties. More information on Senator Bill Dodd can be found at www.senate.ca.gov/dodd.