California Bottle Bill History
| Original Law | 1990 Amendment | 2000 Expansion | AB 28, 2004 | AB 3056, 2006 | Current Law | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (AB 2020) | |||||
| Purpose | To encourage recycling and reduce litter | |||||
| Enacted | 9/29/1986 | |||||
| Implemented | 9/1/1987 | 1/1/2000 | 1/1/2004 | 1/1/2007 | ||
| Beverages Covered | Beer, malt, all soft drinks, fruit drinks, sport drinks, water, coffee & teas, wine & distilled spirits coolers | Expanded to include all non-alcoholic beverages, except milk | beer, malt, wine & distilled spirits coolers, all non-alcoholic beverages, except milk. Excludes vegetable juices over 16oz. | |||
| Containers Covered | Aluminum. glass, plastic and bi-metal. Exempts refillables | Aluminum. glass, plastic and bi-metal. Exempts refillables | ||||
| Amount of Deposit | 1¢ | Amended to 2.5¢ <24 oz and 5¢ >24 oz | increased to (4¢: >24oz.) and (8¢: <24oz.) | increased to (10¢: >24oz.) and (5¢: <24oz.) | (5¢: under 24oz.) and (10¢: 24oz. and greater) | |
| Redemption Rate | Please refer back to main CA page for most recent redemption rates. | |||||
| System | State certified redemption centers, registered curbside operations, dropoffs | State certified recyclers include redemption centers, registered curbside operations, dropoffs | ||||
| Unredeemed Deposits | Property of state: used for program administration and grants to non-profits | Property of program: used for program administration program payments and grants. | ||||
| Handling Fee | Changed processing payment to 1.8¢ and schedules regular re-evaluations (b) | Handling Fees paid by state to specific handling fee sites. Department will calculate the monthly handling fee at the rate of $0.01046 per beverage container redeemed.(a) | ||||
| Other Fees | Beverage manufacturers pay Processing Fees to the State to offset recyclers' costs when the cost of recycling exceeds the value of scrap material. CalRecycle then makes Processing Payments directly to redemption centers. | Please refer back to main CA page for most recent processing fees and payments. | ||||
| Notes | Containers are returned to licensed redemption centers, not to retailers; Refund value determined by weight for more than 50 containers | |||||
Footnotes[a]Source: CalRecycle. "Handling Fee Changes, Effective July 1, 2015” (Updated) June 11, 2015 [b]Source: CalRecycle. "Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates" May 8, 2015.
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