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California has container deposits but as a consumer they’re impossible to get refunded. So while in Germany and Norway you’d take your bottles and cans back to
by laurencerowe 5y ago
California has container deposits but as a consumer they’re impossible to get refunded. So while in Germany and Norway you’d take your bottles and cans back to the supermarket to return for credit, in CA we put them in the recycling bin and homeless folks come along and empty your recycling bins on bin night to collect any bottles and cans which they then sell to a middleman with a truck who sells them back to the one deposit return location in the city that will accept them.
- URSpider94 5y agoWhy do you say impossible? I can take them to my local recycling center which is open 9-5 every day of the year except Christmas, New Years Day and Thanksgiving, and they will gladly pay me back the deposit.
- laurencerowe 5y agoImpossible is too strong a word, but it's not very practical and at 5c a container not worthwhile to make a special trip to the single recycling centre in SF. Compare to Germany/Norway where the deposit is ~25c a container and you can just take them back to the supermarket. Apparently retailers are obligated to refund CRV in CA but they just ignore the regulation: https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/05/03/ca-lawmaker-proposes-bill-to-make-getting-a-crv-refund-easier-for-recyclers/ https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/05/03/ca-lawmaker-pro...
- URSpider94 5y agoThis is something that’s much easier in the suburbs - if I wanted to, I could stash three giant trash bags in my garage, eventually toss them in my minivan and drive the 5 miles to the recycling center, which is about the same as my ordinary commute. I can imagine that that’s basically impossible to do if you live in SF.