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Where Have All the CRVs Gone? <br /> <br /> <br />2021-2022 Orange County Grand Jury Page 7 <br /> <br />and 135 unserved.8 In the rest of the unserved zones lacking redemption centers, retailers are <br />supposed to provide on-site redemption or pay State fees to avoid responsibility. Returning CRV <br />containers to the local grocery store increases consumer convenience. <br />In an intercept survey, people were asked to choose from eleven options as to why they <br />redeemed bottles at the recycling center. The top three reasons were ‘close to home’ (70 <br />percent), ‘open at good times’ (21 percent), and ‘short lines and wait times’ (18 percent).9 <br /> <br />Consumer Watchdog conducted an audit of 50 Los Angeles-area grocery, convenience and drug <br />stores required by the State to refund consumer bottle deposits. The audit found up to two-thirds <br />of retailers responsible for redemption may be refusing to take bottles back. The penalty from <br />CalRecycle for refusing CRV redemption is between $100 and $1,000, depending on whether it <br />is a repeat offense. It is very rare that retailers will be inspected and penalized by CalRecycle.10 <br />Close to 4,000 California stores have signed up with CalRecycle to redeem CRV containers in <br />zones lacking recycling centers.11 In Orange County, 109 Recycling/Redemption centers remain <br />open,12 many with limited days and hours of operation. In addition, there are currently 195 in- <br /> <br />8 https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/recyclingcenters. <br />9 Intercept Survey conducted by the University of California, Berkeley research team. <br />10 Liz Tucker, “Trashed, How California Recycling Failed and How to Fix It ,” Consumer Watchdog, published <br />January 2020. <br />11 www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/InStoreRedemption. <br />12 www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer>recycling centers.