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Where Have All the CRVs Gone? <br /> <br /> <br />2021-2022 Orange County Grand Jury Page 8 <br /> <br />store CRV redemption locations.13 Although the CalRecycle website lists the status, hours, and <br />days of operation of recycling and redemption centers, the OCGJ determined the information is <br />not always accurate. <br />The primary cause of redemption center closure is the lack of compensation received from <br />CalRecycle. Liza Tucker, a consumer advocate with Container Recycling Institute, stated, “the <br />formula for calculating state payments to recycling centers is flawed.” CalRecycle, she said, <br />“averages costs to run centers across the state. But the cost of operating a redemption center in a <br />grocery store parking lot – which is the most convenient for consumers – is substantially <br />higher.”14 <br />The rePlanet Recycling Centers suffered the largest closure. Established in 1984, rePlanet grew <br />to 600 redemption centers in California at its peak. In 2016, it closed 191 centers and terminated <br />300 employees. On August 5, 2019, it closed the remaining 284 centers and laid off the <br />remaining 750 employees. David Lawrence, rePlanet’s President said the factors were: <br />Reduction in State Fees: <br />• Depressed pricing of aluminum and plastic <br />• Minimum wage increases <br />• Required Health and Workers Compensation Insurance15 <br />The decline in Redemption Centers will result in: <br />• Tons of metal, plastics, and glassware going into landfills <br />• Increased greenhouse gas <br />• Increased litter <br />• Lost jobs in recycling and redemption industry <br />• Income for families and individuals who gather discarded cans and bottles to earn <br />extra cash <br />A letter from Container Recycling Institute (CRI) urged the State to extend the Processing <br />Payment Emergency Regulations for one year.16 The Emergency Regulations add a 10 percent <br />reasonable financial return to calculate the processing payments that will be made to certified <br />recyclers for 2021. This processing payment subsidy is intended to offset the difference between <br />their operating costs and the revenue earned from scrap sales and handling fees. “Recyclers” <br />include recycling centers, and curbside and drop-off programs. <br /> <br />13 www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/beveragecontainer/instore redemption. <br />14 Kevin Smith, “rePlanet Closes all Recycling Centers, Prompting a Call for Bottle, Can Redemption at Stores,” <br />San Gabriel Valley Tribune, August 6, 2019. <br />15 Ibid. <br />16 December 6, 2021, letter from Container Recycling Institute President and Executive Director, Susan Collins to <br />The State of California Office of Administrative Law.