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Where Have All the CRVs Gone? SUMMARY Each year Californians pay over $1.4 billion in California Refund Value (CRV) fees to the State of California, yet only a portion of those funds are redeemed by the consumer. Since 2013, more than 1,000 redemption centers have closed throughout California leaving 1,265 redemption centers statewide and only 109 in Orange County.' The quantity of convenient redemption centers is constantly changing. Where once the consumer need only return their cans and bottles to the grocery store to receive their money, today redemption could mean traveling many miles. Due to the reduction of CRV redemption sites, waste haulers have become the default beneficiaries and are paid the CRV redemption for the containers collected at curbside. Millions of dollars in CRV fees still go unclaimed. Currently this amount is over $600 million, a portion of which belongs to Orange County residents. This report will explore the lack of redemption sites and the innovative programs being piloted to return the CRV dollars to Orange County consumers. Based on the Orange County Grand Jury (OCGJ) investigation, we recommend all Orange County cities and the County of Orange assess the revenue stream from curbside pickup, processing, and sale of recyclable materials, and leverage this to benefit their residents when negotiating waste hauler contracts. They should also require waste hauler -funded additional redemption centers when negotiating contracts. Additionally, the OCGJ recommends all cities and the County of Orange research and apply for available grants or pilot programs from Cal/EPA California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) that focus on returning CRV funds to their residents. Lastly, the OCGJ recommends development of programs aimed at educating residents regarding CRV redemption opportunities. BACKGROUND California Redemption Value (CRV), also known as California Refund Value, is a regulatory fee paid on recyclable beverage containers in California. The fee was established by the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act of 1986, also called the Bottle Bill (AB 2020, Margolin).2 Since 2010 the program has been administered by the Cal/EPA California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). This Act was intended to increase the recycling rate to 80 percent of all recyclable containers and to provide for convenience in redeeming consumer deposits (CRV). This Act established convenience zones. A retailer/dealer in an unserved convenience zone (one without a functioning redemption center) may choose, after a 60-day grace period, to pay CalRecycle $100 fine per day in lieu of redeeming containers on site or establishing a redemption center in the convenience zone. From the CalRecycle website, a convenience zone is ' http://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/recyclingcenters. 2 http://www.bottlebill.org 2021-2022 Orange County Grand Jury Page 3 City Council 7-5 9/20/2022