More companies reported selling plastic bottles in California in 2019 compared to the prior year, but so far, slightly fewer said they used recycled plastic. | tezzstock/Shutterstock
Beverage container producers have reported their recycled plastic use in California for 2019. Out of 64 manufacturers, 13 companies said they used recycled plastic.
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) on April 6 released the 2019 Plastic Beverage Container Virgin and Post-Consumer Resin Reports, which are required by law.
The requirement applies to producers of bottles subject to the California Redemption Value (CRV), a fee of 5 cents or 10 cents (depending on bottle size) paid by consumers but returned to them when they redeem containers.
More companies reported selling plastic bottles in California in 2019 compared to the prior year, but so far, slightly fewer said they used recycled plastic.
However, it’s impossible to compare recycled plastic use across all companies due to differences in reporting. Some manufacturers report their use in weight of recycled plastic, some report the figure only as a percentage, and others reported “unknown” plastic usage.
The following companies reported a weight figure for recycled resin in 2019 (their 2018 weight is included where applicable):
- Niagara Bottling: 48.8 million pounds (up from 33.2 million pounds in 2018)
- PepsiCo: 14.7 million pounds (down from 16.4 million pounds)
- Chameleon Beverage Co.: 1.7 million pounds (down from 1.9 million pounds)
- Hydration Source: 13,440 pounds
- Anheuser-Busch: 152 pounds (up from 136 pounds)
Additionally, the following bottlers reported using a percentage of recycled content, although the weight was not listed:
- Nestlé Waters North America: 36.2% (down from 37% in 2018)
- Danone Waters of America: 20% (no change)
- Dolgen California: 17% (no change)
- CG Roxane: 3% (up from 0.6%)
- Whole Foods Market: 20% of 431,593 bottles
- Coca-Cola: 19.3% (up from 9%)
- West Coast Liquidators: 8%
- Brookcrest Water Company: 100%
CalRecycle noted the 2019 data is incomplete due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As additional companies report figures, CalRecycle will add that data to its report.
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