This week RCRC supported Assembly Bill 1311, authored by Assembly Member Jim Wood (D- Santa Rosa), which seeks to improve consumer access to beverage container recycling opportunities.
Over the last several years, hundreds of recycling centers have closed statewide. This has dramatically reduced (and in many cases eliminated) consumer access to convenient redemption opportunities. Three counties currently have NO recycling centers, seven counties have only a single recycling center, and six have just two. RCRC has long sought to increase access to convenient redemption opportunities, as the program quickly becomes a regressive tax if consumers cannot get their deposits back.
AB 1311 provides CalRecycle with greater flexibility to adjust recycling center operating hours and allow appointment-based recycling opportunities to accommodate local needs. This flexibility was sought by the Humboldt Waste Management Authority, Humboldt County, RCRC, CSAC, and the League of California Cities and will particularly help recycling centers in rural areas that need to use alternative schedules to meet local demand. AB 1311 also builds in other changes sought by those organizations to provide retailers with the ability to redeem consumer beverage containers at the store site rather than in the store, as is currently required by law. Finally, the bill helps to facilitate the use of “bag drop” recycling programs as another mode of redemption opportunity.
Assembly Bill 1311 helps make modest changes to an incredibly complex statutory framework that provides CalRecycle with little opportunity to respond to changing local needs and market conditions. As the bill progresses, RCRC will work with the author to explore other prudent changes to improve the Beverage Container Recycling Program.
Assembly Bill 1311 will be heard by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 14. To read RCRC's letter of support, see here. For more information, contact John Kennedy, RCRC Legislative Advocate, by email or call (916) 447-4806.