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Where Have All the CRVs Gone? <br /> <br /> <br />2021-2022 Orange County Grand Jury Page 5 <br /> <br />The largest single recycling operator, rePlanet Recycling Centers, that had 600 locations in <br />California, closed their last 284 centers on August 5, 2019, many of which were in Orange <br />County. With fewer options, consumers have relinquished their CRV refunds to the trash haulers <br />by resorting to single stream curbside collections. This CRV and material revenue is in addition <br />to fees paid by residents to collect the recyclable materials. Waste haulers, including municipal <br />haulers, were paid $146 million in 2020 for consumer CRV donated to their recycling bins at <br />curbside and rural drop off locations.5 <br />The OCGJ discovered CalRecycle was exploring new ways to encourage recycling through five <br />pilot programs. Recycle From Home in Irvine makes redemption of CRV as easy as taking out <br />your trash. This report examines the issues and solutions behind recycling and CRV redemption <br />and explores opportunities to expand innovative programs throughout the County. <br />METHOD OF STUDY <br />The OCGJ used a variety of methods to gather information for our investigation. <br />• Interviews with individuals with expertise in state and local waste and recycling <br />management. <br />• Research about CRV, waste haulers, Convenience Zones, Cash for Trash, local <br />newspapers, grant programs pertaining to Orange County and various sources relating <br />to the overall operations of recycling and CRV fees. <br />• Report studies from CalRecycle, Consumer Watchdog, and Container Recycling <br />Institute (CRI). <br />• Tours of Orange County landfills. <br />• Review of various Assembly and Senate Bills pertaining to recycling. <br />• Conducted a survey of Orange County cities recycling coordinators regarding their <br />current CRV recycling programs. <br />INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS <br />CRV Redemption <br />California’s bottle and can recycling program was once considered successful. Today it has <br />become a failed model. California now has a very inconvenient redemption structure compared <br />to other states. As of May 2021, Californians have only one redemption center for about every <br />26,000 people. Oregon, in comparison, has 74 percent higher quantity of redemption centers <br />than California,6 even though Oregon’s population is one-ninth the size of California’s. <br /> <br />5 For more on haulers and why consumers do not get back deposits, see: https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/news- <br />story/opinion-why-californians-don’t-get-thier-bottle-and-can-deposits-back. <br /> <br />6 OBRC, Quarterly Report Q4 2020