Exploring refillables in the United States

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Long before one-way beverage bottles and cans came to dominate drink packaging in the mid-20th century, (1) refillables were how Americans—and people around the world—consumed beer, soft drinks, and milk. While refillables have largely disappeared as a mass market commodity in the United States, they are making a resurgence in some regional markets. These markets and uses are worth exploring as alternatives to today’s unsustainable system of disposable containers that saddles the environment, and local taxpayers across the country, with 185 billion wasted bottles, cans, and cartons each year. That is 14 million tons of wasted metal, glass, plastic, and paper—and untold millions of pieces of litter along our nation’s roads, beaches, parks, farms, and public spaces. (2)

Pursuing a refillable bottle infrastructure in the United States would be a valuable endeavor. Refillables have a much lower carbon footprint than one-way glass or plastic bottles (consuming about 93% less energy than comparably sized one-way glass), and they use less water overall. (3)

To determine how regional refillables systems might be expanded or replicated, it is worthwhile to explore existing refillables programs in the United States and Canada:

Courtesy of Oregon Beverage Recycling

 

Oregon: the BottleDrop refillables program is operated by the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), a privately-owned extended producer responsibility (EPR) organization that also operates the statewide redemption system for one- way beverage containers. As of early 2021, only beer, hard cider, and wine bottlers have taken advantage of the refillables system, although it is open to all beverage producers.(4)..

oregonrefillablesquoteThe only refillables program in the United States to cover an entire state, it provides bottlers with specially designed, Oregon-specific bottles.(5) These bottles are thicker and stronger than single-use glass bottles and are embossed with “BottleDrop” and “Please Return.”

As of early 2021, eleven craft breweries and wineries are participating. OBRC’s bottle “sharing” system makes it easy for small brewers and vintners to join the system because the standardized bottles are already available to them. Because they essentially “rent” these standardized bottles, they can forgo the expense of designing a customized bottle, paying a manufacturer to make molds for it, and paying for the production of all their bottles, including the excess quantities necessary for peak seasons and delayed returns (“the float”). Since this financial barrier to entry has been eliminated, OBRC reports that “around 100” different beverage types were available in refillables in Oregon as of Feb. 2021. They also reported that their refillable BottleDrop locations saved 407,840 bottles from being crushed and recycled in 2019.(6) OBRC attributes their ability to be creative and successful in this endeavor to the existing redemption infrastructure, and to Oregon’s “strong comparative redemption rate” resulting from the strength of Oregon’s bottle bill, and from the Oregon beverage industry’s efficiency and cooperation. Also noteworthy is the deposit value increase from 5¢ to 10¢ in 2017.

California: the company Conscious Container has completed a series of refillables pilot programs in northern California. They recently received a $500,000 grant from CalRecycle’s Beverage Container Program to “develop and deliver a new reusable/refillable glass bottle infrastructure in Northern California” for Phase 3 of their Pilot Reuse Wine Bottle program in Napa and Sonoma.(7) They aim to refill beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages in other regions of the state and country as well.

 

Bayern refillable beer bottles, Montana

Montana: Bayern Brewing in Missoula, Montana (at right) is a craft brewery whose “Eco League” refillable program reused 36,000 six-packs in 2017.(8)

 

Pennsylvania: The Straub Brewery in St. Mary’s (north central PA) has been a family-owned brewery for almost 150 years.(9) They have been bottling in refillables since 1946, and report that their returnable flagship beers—Lager, Light, and Amber—continue to be most requested by customers. In 2016, Straub received a Leadership in Reusable Packaging Award from the Pennsylvania Resources Council.10 Although Pennsylvania is not one of the 10 U.S. states with a container deposit law, Straub customers keep coming back for their favorite beers with a 5¢ refund value.

Inspection after final rinse, and reusable box showing 5¢ deposit. Courtesy of Straub Brewery, Inc.Inspection after final rinse, and reusable box showing 5¢ deposit. Courtesy of Straub Brewery, Inc.

 Inspection after final rinse, and reusable box showing 5¢ deposit. Courtesy of Straub Brewery, Inc.


Canada:
As far back as 2005, Canadian beer brewers were achieving a refillable bottle return rate averaging 97% through the use of the industry standard refillable beer bottle (ISB). (11) In 2016, a 95% return rate for refillables across the country was reported, with a trippage rate of 15 (the number of times the average refillable bottle is returned, cleaned, and refilled).(12) The Ontario- based Beer Store reported a 97% return on its half-billion refillable bottles sold in 2019.(13)

Soda pop in refillables: Once-ubiquitous soda bottle return options had largely disappeared by the 1970s, making them objects of nostalgia and song. At least three U.S bottlers are still selling their products in local markets and washing and refilling them for a loyal customer base,(14) although one has paused refilling operations during the Covid pandemic.(15)

Bottles placed in washing machine; assorted flavors. Courtesy of Avery’s Beverages, New Britain, CT.Bottles placed in washing machine; assorted flavors. Courtesy of Avery’s Beverages, New Britain, CT.

Bottles placed in washing machine; assorted flavors. Courtesy of Avery’s Beverages, New Britain, CT.


Milk in refillables:
As of late 2020, 67 well-established, independent dairy farms and creameries were selling milk in refillable bottles in 29 U.S. states, including 3 each in Connecticut and Massachusetts, 2 in Vermont, 7 in Pennsylvania, and 6 each in California and New York.(16) Ten more operate in Canada. Almost all of these dairies have washing and refilling equipment on site. The average deposit value is $2.00 per bottle of any size, and the average bottle may be refilled 10-40 times, depending on where it is sold. Although milk in refillable glass bottles constitutes less than 2% of all U.S. milk packaging, it is a growing trend, with more small and medium dairies adding filling and washing lines each year, as part of the eat-local and farm-to-table movements.(17)
DrinkMilk

Since milk has not been included in any of the ten U.S. container deposit recycling programs, it would make sense for states’ environmental agencies to encourage dairies in their states to adopt refillables.

Refillables Worldwide

Refillables are still used throughout much of Asia, Latin America, and Africa--and to a lesser extent in the European Union (although Germany leads with a refillable beer and water market share of 35%). According to a recent report by Oceana, an NGO with a mission of protecting the world’s oceans, “Most of the top 10 global non-alcoholic beverage markets, including China, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Germany, and Turkey have refillable market shares between 26% and 61%.”(18) The glass company O-I has 7 billion refillable bottles in circulation worldwide.(19) Each refillable bottle may make 30 trips (washing and refilling) before it breaks or is retired.

Conservatively estimating 25 trips per refillable glass bottle (OBRC estimates an average of 30), 7 billion refillable glass bottles in circulation are actually replacing about 175 billion one-way glass bottles: equivalent to 5 years’ worth of all the glass beverage bottles sold in the United States.

PET Plastic Refillable Bottles

While this discussion has focused on glass refillables, refillable PET plastic bottles can be refilled 20 times, and are common in Europe. They should not be discounted as an idea to explore in the United States, especially since plastic bottle littering and marine pollution are such pernicious problems. A 2020 Oceana report on refillables found that “between 21 and 34 billion PET bottles…become marine pollution every year,” and discussed PET damage to marine life in painful detail. It called on coastal countries worldwide to adopt refillable containers.(20)

Since 30 of the 50 U.S. states are home to more than 12,000 miles of marine or lake shorelines in 5 coastal systems,(21) adopting refillables should be an imperative for the United States. Refillables could reduce plastic bottle litter along these coasts—and along our nation’s streets and roads, rivers and lakes, and parks and fields.

 

Additional Resources on Refillables

Websites:

OBRC Bottle Drop webpage
Bayern Brewery website
Straub Brewery website
Conscious Container website
Glass Soda Bottle website

Drink Milk in Glass Bottles website
Upstream refillables webpage
Hosmer Mountain Soda website

Reports:

“Just One Word: Refillables.” Oceana, January 2020
Policy Instruments to Promote Refillable Beverage Containers,” Reloop Platform, June 2016.
“Case
Reopened: Reassessing Refillable Bottles.” INFORM Inc, 1994.
“Reduce, Reuse, Refill!” Institute for Local Self Reliance, April 2002.

Footnotes:

Introduction of selected one-way beverage containers: steel beer cans: 1935, steel soda cans: 1953, aluminum cans: 1959, non-refillable PET bottles: 1973. Cited in “Bottled Up: Beverage Container Recycling Stagnates (2000-2010).” Container Recycling Institute, 2013.

2“2018 Beverage Market Data Analysis,” The Container Recycling Institute, 2020.

3Borchev, Boris. “The future of the glass bottles – refilling or recycling.” Public Participation in Developing a Common Framework for Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation” (CASI) website4/26/16, accessed 2/12/21.

Personal communication with Eric Chambers, OBRC, 2/16/21.

5 Presentation by Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) at CRI webinar: “The Return of Refillables in the United States,” 12/13/18. See also “Oregon Launches First Statewide Refillable Bottle System In US.” Oregon PublicBroadcasting8/27/18.

6OBRC’s refillable bottle drop web pageaccessed 10/14/20.

7 “Awards for the Pilot Cycle of the Reuse Grant Program (Fiscal Year 2019-20),” CalRecycle Public Meeting, 3/16/21.

8Bayern presentation at CRI webinar: “The Return of Refillables in the United States,” 12/13/18.

9“Roundup: Straub Brewery Wins Leadership in Reusable Packaging Award.” Reusable Packaging News, 11/17/16.

10 Personal communication from Catherine Lenze, Straub Brewery, Inc., 2/19/21.

11“Canada's brewers launch "pro-refillable" ad campaign.” Solid Waste & Recycling, 4/29/2005.

12“Who Pays What 2018: An Analysis of Beverage Container Collection & Costs in Canada.” CM Consulting, 2018.

13“Responsible Stewardship 2019,” The Beer Store, Ontario. PDF accessed2/12/21.

14Personal communication with Louis Petix, College Club Beverages(Rochester, NY), 4/7/21. Photo of bottle washing operation and assorted flavors used with permission of Rob Metz, Avery's Beverages, LLC4/7/21.

15Personal communication with Pierce Sears, Thomas Wilson Bottling Company (Rockport, MA), 4/7/21.

16Drink Milk in Glass Bottles website(operated by Stanpacnet.com), accessed 10/14/20.

17Personal communication with Murray Bain, VP of Marketing, Stanpac4/6/21.

18“Just One Word: Refillables.” Oceana, January 2020.

19“The return of the returnable beer bottle: Will customers bring ‘em back?” B. Batz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/4/18.

20“Just One Word: Refillables.” Oceana, January 2020.

21“Coastal States 2021.” World Population Review websiteaccessed 2/12/21.

California's Container Deposit System Crisis

For comprehensive analyses of California’s system, scroll down for reports, letters and other documentation

 

Overview

At a time when we must take every step possible to address our climate and plastic pollution crises, California’s beverage container deposit program (aka bottle bill) is suffering from extensive shortcomings – namely a staggering loss of redemption centers over the last decade and a lack of transparency about the amount of state funding available to help increase deposit return opportunities for consumers.

From 2013 to 2022, more than 1,300 (50%) of the state’s redemption centers closed – including nearly 300 in August 2019 by rePlanet, then the largest operator of such centers in California. This steep decline has created dire consequences:

    dramatically less recovered income for consumers – on the order of $600 million annually – because they no longer can find sites for returning empty bottles and cans in exchange for the deposit refunds; 

    fewer recycling industry jobs (750 lost with the rePlanet center closures alone); 

    a drop in the state’s beverage container redemption rate* by 15.5 percentage points (74% to 58.5%); and 

    ensuing harm to the sustainable economy and the environment, because fewer recycled beverage containers means more end up in landfills, and more must be produced from virgin (versus recycled) materials. 

The redemption center closures have stemmed primarily from an outdated state subsidy formula that results in severe underpayments to the centers to supplement the scrap values of recycled materials. Of the dozens of container deposit programs worldwide, only California’s employs a structure that imparts such high levels of financial risks, plus uncertain and inadequate payments, to redemption centers. Combined with several years of historically low scrap prices that reduced centers’ revenues, and minimum wage increases for employees, too many sites could no longer cover their operating costs and ensure enough profit to remain solvent. 

With deposit return options plummeting, especially in “recycling deserts” that were left with virtually no redemption centers, the coffers of CalRecycle swelled. This state agency, which administers and provides oversight for recycling programs, keeps unclaimed deposit monies.

Diligent work by CRI helped bring to light that CalRecycle had been mis-reporting its Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP) fund balance in various reports, with an underreported differential of nearly $180 million for the 2019-20 FY – leaving legislators and consumers without the full picture about the program’s structural and operational failures.  

For the 2020-21 FY, CalRecycle’s report to the State Controller’s Office – likely its most accurate data – indicated a main BCRP fund balance of $563.3 million. Although some increase in the balance from 2020 to 2022 can be attributed to a significant rise in packaged beverage sales and a decrease in container redemptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fund had been growing annually since 2015-16. 

It will take a significant overhaul to revive California’s system. The state’s elected officials and regulatory bodies must, at a minimum, ensure predictable and sufficient funding for redemption centers and permanently raise the deposit on all containers from 5 cents to 10 cents to incentivize more returns. One positive step did occur in 2022 with the State Senate’s passage of a bill to add a deposit to wine and distilled spirits (liquor). (The State Assembly still must vote on it.) A CRI analysis indicates that, if implemented, this legislation would result in the recycling of more than half a billion additional bottles and cans annually. 

After the revelation about the underreported BCRP fund balance, CalRecycle announced a proposal to use $330 million in surplus funds to increase deposit return options and provide “bonus” recycling credits. While it represents an important step for the agency to recognize the system’s deficiencies, this proposal – unanimously rejected by the State Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee – will not create long-term change until CalRecycle takes additional actions, including:

    Preparing a clear statement of goals and objectives for the beverage container deposit program;

    Developing a detailed, targeted implementation plan to prioritize expenditures, particularly in rural and underserved communities; 

    Establishing a measurement mechanism to assess results of its program enhancements, with publicly reported outcomes; and

    Increasing enforcement of the “return-to-retail” commitment of retailers (including supermarkets) not currently adhering to their pledge to accept back empty containers and provide deposit refunds to consumers. 

The documents on this page contain additional information on California’s beverage container deposit program, including CRI’s analyses of legislative developments and recommendations for ensuring that the nation’s most populous state operates an efficient, effective system key to a more circular economy.  

* The redemption rate covers beverage containers returned to redemption centers or retail sites, but not containers recycled through curbside and drop-off programs. Deposit returns account for approximately 88% of the number of containers recycled in California.    

Important note: For consumers whose nearest redemption center has closed, see the document titled “The California Crisis – Bottle Recycling in California: How to Get Your Deposits Back” (August 2019) for options on how to redeem your empty beverage containers for cash.

 

© Container Recycling Institute, 2022


© Container Recycling Institute, 2022

 

Additional Documents:

 

2024

CRI Opposes CA SB 1113, Unless Amended (March 13, 2024)

 

2023

CalRecycle's Processing Payment Emergency Regulations (November 13th, 2023)

Update on the Financial Status of California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program: Overall $923 million Balance in Funds (November 2, 2023)

CRI Statement on California SB 353 Becoming Law (October 17th, 2023)

CRI provides comment on CalRecycle SB1013 Dealer Cooperative Draft (September 14th, 2023)

CRI has serious concerns about the Governor’s 2023-2024 budget for the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (June 13th, 2023)

Apparent Errors and Omissions in Governor's Budget for fund 0269, the Glass Processing Fee Account (June 13th, 2023)

Apparent Errors and Omissions in Governor's Budget for fund 0133, the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund (June 13th, 2023)

CRI supports SB 353 - California  (June 5th, 2023)

CalRecycle's Tentative Implementation Calendar for Circular Economy Programs (May 5th, 2023)

California Budget Change Proposal: Beverage Container Recycling Implementation (SB 1013) (January 10, 2023)

 

2022

CRI Letter to California Office of Administrative Law on CalRecycle Processing Payment Emergency Regulations (October 26th, 2022)

CA SB 1013 Summary (September 5th, 2022)

CA AB 179 Budget Act of 2022 Deposit Program Funding Breakdown (September 5th, 2022)

CRI neither opposes or supports SB 1013 (August 26, 2022)

Amendments to Senate Bill No. 1013 (August 23, 2022)

The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act - Flow of Payments under the Beverage Container Recycling Program (August 2022)

Letter from CRI to Assembly Committee on Appropriations to Support for SB 1013 (July 25, 2022) UPDATED

Pilot Error: How CalRecycle's New CRV Refund Pilots are Crashing and Burning (Consumer Watchdog, June 2022)

Letter from CRI to California Assembly Committee on Natural Resources: Support for SB 38 (June 21, 2022)

Container Recycling Institute Comments on CalRecycle’s Budget Change Proposal (BCP) for the Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP) (May 2nd, 2022)

Letter to California Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin: CRI Supports California AB 2779 (to place a CRV on wine and distilled spirits sold in aluminum cans) (April 25th, 2022)

Proposed Bonus Credits Would Double Recycling Refunds to Get Surplus Bottle and Can Deposits Back to Californians (CalRecycle, April 1st, 2022)

Flaw in California's AB 793's De Minimis Provision Threatens Operability of Entire Recycled Content Law (CRI, March 31st, 2022)

CalRecycle Budget Change Proposal (March 30th, 2022)

California's Bottle Bill: The Path to Redemption (The Story of Stuff Project, March 3rd, 2022)

'The System Is So Broken': State Senator Grills California Officials Over Bottle Deposit Program (San Francisco Chronicle, March 3rd, 2022)

Letter from CalRecycle to California Senate Budget Subcommittee on CalRecycle's Oversight of the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (March 2nd, 2022)

More Bottle and Can Redemptions Coming to California Communities Without Recycling Centers in New CVS Agreement with CalRecycle (CalRecycle, March 1st, 2022)

Letter from California Senate Budget Subcommittee to CalRecycle on CalRecycle's Oversight of the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (February 22nd, 2022)

California Bottle Deposit Program Sitting on at Least $100 Million More than It Told Lawmakers (San Francisco Chronicle, January 30th, 2022)


2021

CRI Supports CalRecycle's Proposal to Extend the Processing Payment Emergency Regulations (December 16th, 2021)

Update on the Status of California's Beverage Container Recycling Program: Overall $648 Million Balance in Funds Amidst Staggering Losses of Redemption Opportunities for Consumers (December 15th, 2021)

Update on the Status of California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program: Overall $534 Million Balance in Funds Amidst Staggering Losses of Redemption Opportunities for Consumers  (July 28th, 2021)

CRI Opposes AB 1454, Changes to The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (June 25th, 2021)

CRI Supports California's AB 962 (June 21st, 2021)

Background on California’s Convenience Zone Structure and Current Status  (May 5th, 2021)

 

2020

CRI Letter on California SB372  (January 14th, 2020)

 

2019

CRI supports RFR - Processing Payment Emergency Regulations  (December 10th, 2019)

The California Crisis – Bottle Recycling in California: How to Get Your Deposits Back (August 2019)

CRI Response to Closure of Nearly 300 Bottle Redemption Centers in CA (August 2019)

California’s CRV Beverage Container Recycling Program: Quantifying Payments to Curbside and Drop-off Programs (2017) - Updated August 2019

Summary of Findings: The operators of curbside and drop-off programs in California received $193 million in revenue from CalRecycle payments and scrap sales for CRV beverage containers in 2017. The estimated cost for handling those containers was $43 million, leading to a calculation of $150 million in gross profits, or a 349% profit. Download PDF [PDF, 449KB]

Reasonable Financial Return for recycling centers - August 23, 2019

In December 2018, CRI submitted a letter to CalRecycle in favor of emergency regulations changing the RFR used to calculate 2019 processing payments (attached). We wrote that the proposed RFRs of 11% and 16% for rural sites were “nowhere near enough to avert the impending financial crisis for redemption centers.”
Download PDF [485KB]

CRI supports AB 792 - April 23rd, 2019

We are writing in support of AB 792, which would require plastic beverage bottle manufacturers to make their bottles out of 100% recycled content by 2035, with intermediate goals to be reached incrementally.

Download PDF [485KB]

Background on California’s Convenience Zone Structure and Current Status - April 2019

A “convenience zone” is defined as the area within a half-mile radius of a supermarket that has gross annual sales of at least $2 million. By statute, the intent is to have one redemption center in each convenience zone. This would ensure that it is just as easy to return an empty beverage container for refund as it is to purchase the beverage in the first place. Download PDF [PDF, 373KB]

CRI Supports AB 815 - March 28th, 2019

We are writing in support of dual-stream recycling, in relation to AB 815, “Integrated waste management plans: source reduction and recycling element: dual stream recycling programs.”
Download PDF [705KB]

 

2018

CalRecycle 2019 Processing Payments (December 2018)

CalRecycle 2019 Processing Fees (December 2018)

CRI letter to CalRecycle in support of extending emergency regulations to boost payments to redemption centers, 12-10-18

The Container Recycling Institute supports the adoption of emergency regulations changing the reasonable financial return (RFR) applied to the calculation of processing payments for the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.
Download PDF [PDF, 1MB]

CalRecycle Handling Fee Changes Effective July 1st, 2018 (June 2018)

 

2017

CRI Response to Emergency Increase in Processing Payment - October 13th, 2017

The Container Recycling Institute supports the proposed changes to the Reasonable Financial Return (RFR) described during the Workshop on Processing Payment Emergency Rulemaking. Based on our analyses that I will detail below, we believe this a good solution to the current problem.
Download PDF [PDF, 236KB]

California’s Beverage Container Redemption Center Crisis:  THE BIGGEST LOSERS (July, 2017)

California needs to help restore redemption center coverage in the “recycling deserts” in the state. Here’s why. (July 2017)
Download PDF [PDF, 29KB]

CRI Supports Most Budget Committee Recommendations for CalRecycle (California) - June 1, 2017

The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) supports the Assembly budget committee recommendations for CalRecycle’s Beverage Container and Litter Reduction Act program. CRI supports the budget committee proposal for funding for “enhanced oversight, audit and enforcement in the beverage container recycling program.”
Download PDF [PDF, 158KB]

 

2016

California Beverage Container Redemption Centers Lose $20 Million in 2015 Due to State Payment Shortfalls (April, 2016)

Integrity of California’s Beverage Container Deposit System  Threatened by Processing Payment Shortfalls - Report (Updated: April 2016)

Declining scrap prices coupled with problematic compensation formulas have produced processing payment shortfalls that have already forced the closure of more than 400 redemption centers in California, posing a serious threat to the state’s beverage container recycling infrastructure and sharply constricting consumers’ ability to recover the CRV (container refund value) to which they are entitled.
Download PDF [PDF, 602KB]

Processing Payment Shortfall FactSheet (Updated: April 2016)

Though it would require a statutory change, CRI recommends that the processing payment calculation method be reevaluated to protect the solvency of the recycling centers upon which the California beverage container recycling infrastructure depends.
Download PDF [PDF, 310KB]

Immediate Adjustment of Processing Payments is Needed to Avoid Further Closures of Recycling Centers in California (March, 2016)

 

2015

CRI Analysis of New CalRecycle Data Shows Beverage Container Recycling and Sales Increases (December 2015)

Overall beverage container recycling continues to hold steady at more than 80% in California (December, 2015)

 

2014

CA State Auditor Reviews CalRecycle (November 2014)

Examining the Potential for Increased Revenues in California’s Beverage Container Deposit-­‐Return Program (August 13, 2014)

CRI's letter concerning CalRecycle’s Quarterly Report on the Status of the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (July 24th, 2014)

CRI Summary of CalRecycle’s Budget Change Proposal “Increase Beverage Container Recycling Revenue through Increased Audit Coverage” First of three proposals, First Quarter 2014

CRI Summary of CalRecycle’s Budget Change Proposal “Beverage Container Recycling Program Reform Phase II: Sustainably Reducing the Structural Operating Deficit” Second of three proposals, First Quarter 2014

CRI Summary of CalRecycle’s Budget Change Proposal “Initial Transition for Support of DORIIS from Contractor to State Staffing”  Third of three proposals, First Quarter 2014

 

2013

CRI letter to CalRecycle regarding MRF performance standards (August 1st, 2013)


2009

Evaluating End-of-Life Beverage Container Management Systems for California (May 15th, 2009)

 

Popular Links

  • Publications
  • CRI Memberships
  • Data Archive

New beverage container deposit program bills. Expansion and repeal proposals. Sales, redemption rate and waste trends. Refillable bottle infrastructure. Extended producer responsibility.

CRI covers them all – and more – as the leading source of original research, objective analysis and responsible advocacy on the recycling of beverage containers.

Get the latest insights on our Publications and Letters and Briefings pages. Also visit our California Crisis page for details on the extensive shortcomings of the state’s beverage container deposit program – and ways to help fix them.

Plus, sign up for our Weekly Headlines e-newsletter for the latest beverage container deposit and recycling industry news, and check back for new information as we continue working to make North America a global model for the collection and quality recycling of packaging materials.

CRI offers a variety of membership and partnership options that provide a wide range of benefits, including complimentary registration to CRI webinars, technical assistance and more.

Review the options on our Memberships & Partnerships page and join us!

Find a wealth of data on metrics such as recycling rates, waste and sales for all beverage container types on CRI’s Data Archive page. Charts and graphs present key information in a user-friendly way.

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This counter represents the number of beverage cans and bottles that have been landfilled, littered and incinerated in the US so far this year
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