What Is a CRV in California?

An aluminum can may be eligible for redemption value in California.

The California Refund Value (CRV) promotes bottle and can recycling. Recycling centers pay a designated amount of money for each returned empty beverage container. This encourages people to recycle and decreases the amount of empty bottles thrown into landfills.

Value

In 2010, the CRV for a container over 24 ounces is 10 cents. Containers which hold less than 24 ounces receive a 5 cent CRV, according to the CalRecycle website. You pay the CRV when you purchase a beverage and then have it refunded when you recycle it at a center.

History

The CRV started in 1987. In 1986 the California legislature passed the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act which prompted the refund value, explains EWC Electronic Recyclers.

Types

Beverage containers included in the CRV program include carbonated and un-carbonated waters, soft drinks, fruit drinks, coffee, tea, beer and malt drinks, states EWC Electronic Recyclers. It doesn't, however, include baby formula, milk or wine.

Result

From 1987 to 2010, the CRV program recycled over 230 billion glass, aluminum and plastic containers, according to CalRecycle.

Interesting Fact

In 2009, stores sold 21 billion recyclable containers to Californians. Only 3.8 billion of those containers ended up in landfills, explains CalRecycle. The rest went through the CRV program and were recycled.

References

• CalRecycle: Beverage Container Recycling
• EWC Electronic Recyclers: CRV California