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Where Have All the CRVs Gone? <br /> <br /> <br />2021-2022 Orange County Grand Jury Page 6 <br /> <br /> <br />More than half California’s redemption centers have closed since 2013 due to State <br />underpayments, commodities markets, and later the coronavirus pandemic. Redemption centers <br />have faced financial hardships due to both scrap price declines and inadequate payments from <br />CalRecycle. An additional hardship has been the increase in minimum wage for redemption <br />center employees that has not been accounted for by the payment formula. More than 1,369 <br />redemption centers have closed in California since the peak in 2013. Just over 1,200 redemption <br />centers remain in operation in California, compared to nearly 2,600 centers in 2013. <br />According to CalRecycle, grocery stores can be granted exemptions if recycling centers would <br />not be economically viable, or if another redemption center is sufficiently close by, or if <br />consumers predominantly use curbside services in their location.7 <br />Orange County currently has 338 convenience zones, but only 134 of the convenience zones <br />have a redemption center. There are 59 zones made exempt by CalRecycle, 10 more on hold, <br /> <br />7 For more on exemptions and other program rules, see: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/retailers/zones.