On Monday, RePlanet shut down completely and terminated its entire workforce throughout California. | Graham Corney/Shutterstock
RePlanet, once the largest operator of facilities redeeming containers covered by the California Redemption Value (CRV) program, has shuttered. The move will significantly reduce consumer recycling access.
Oregon was the first state in the U.S. to implement a beverage container deposit/refund system, rolling out its program in 1972. Since then, the system has shown it can keep on a path of continuous improvement.
Experts say a deposit system for non-alcoholic beverage containers would complement a Canadian province’s curbside recycling system, by cutting costs and increasing the volume of material recycled each year.
New York state lawmakers declined to expand the state’s container deposit program to include additional beverages, but they approved a ban on single-use plastic bags.
Recycling stakeholders are pushing back against a container deposit expansion proposal in New York state, stating it will injure recycling programs when they’re already struggling with a down market.
Container deposit fraud allegations against a Waste Management subsidiary in California were settled for $1.1 million last summer.
The refillable bottle produced by O-I is offered in two sizes. Photo courtesy of Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative.
A glass bottle reuse program in Oregon has taken major steps forward, with glass giant Owens-Illinois creating a standardized refillable bottle for breweries and long-term plans for a wash facility moving forward.
The group that runs Oregon’s container deposit program announced it will donate unredeemed deposit money to charitable purposes if the redemption rate for containers drops below 80 percent.
A legislative effort to update Iowa’s bottle bill has failed, as state lawmakers declined to send it out of committee for further consideration.
Susan Collins
The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) commends PepsiCo for recent statements from Vice President Roberta Barbieri supporting the value of bottle bills for producing clean materials for bottle-to-bottle recycling. However, it is important to point out inaccuracies in Ms. Barbieri’s statements, particularly about the cost-effectiveness of bottle bills (container deposit laws).