It may be a dry January for some, but a newly expanded recycling program could make it rain for Californians with empty wine and liquor bottles.
California recycling centers will now redeem wine and spirits bottles, as well as bags, boxes and cartons, for cash as part of the state's Beverage Container Recycling Program.
Supporters say expanding the program to include wine and liquor bottles, which was authorized with the passage of Senate Bill 1013 in 2022, will help boost California's recycling efforts and divert more waste that might otherwise end up in a landfill.
“Adding wine and spirits to the California Beverage Container Recycling Program reduces waste and pollution while providing more material for manufacturers to make new products as part of California's circular economy,” said Rachel Machi Wagoner, director of the California Department of Resource Recycling and Recovery, said in a statement.
Starting this year, anyone purchasing wine or liquor will be charged an additional 5 cents for bottles less than 24 fluid ounces in volume and 10 cents for larger bottles. Other containers, such as plastic bags, boxed bags or cartons, will be subject to an additional 25 cent charge. Prices in stores will be updated to reflect the increases.
For context, a common size for wine and spirits bottles is 750 ml, or a little over 25 fluid ounces.
Additional charges will offset the California Trade-in Value paid when these containers are recycled in the state.
Certain beverage containers made of glass, plastic, aluminum and bimetal, such as beer bottles, soda cans and water bottles, were already included in the program.
CalRecycle estimates the expansion will lead to an additional 1.1 billion bottles being recycled in the state annually.
“With SB 1013 we can increase recycling rates for millions of bottles that would otherwise end up in our landfills or be illegally discarded,” state Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) said in a statement after the bill was approved by the California Legislature. .
An estimated 491 billion cans and bottles have been recycled in California since 1988 under the Beverage Container Recycling Program, including a record 19.5 billion in 2022, according to CalRecycle.
“One of the best things about glass is that it is 100% infinitely recyclable,” said Nigel Dart, vice president of Gallo Glass Co., in a video posted by CalRecycle.
