Time to Get Your Nickel’s Worth

It’s summertime, when millions of Californians constantly reach for a cold one. Empty beer and soda containers really pile up this time of year, often on beaches and in parks as litter and trash even though they can be recycled for a penny each. So this is also the time of year when it is pretty obvious that a penny is not enough.

A bill, sponsored by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), would raise the state redemption rate on bottles or cans under 24 ounces to two empties for a nickel. The bounty on larger bottles, particularly the popular two-liter size, would rise from a penny to a nickel. The nickels would provide stronger incentives to recycle.

The measure, SB 1221, would boost the refunds again to a nickel per smaller container and a dime per larger bottle as of Jan. 1, 1993, but only if the redemption rates do not reach 65% for metal, glass or plastic containers. That level, set by the original bottle legislation two years ago, is more than reasonable.

State recycling rates, however, have not come close to that goal. California’s redemption levels were reported at 57% for empty aluminum cans, 33% for glass bottles and a dismal 5% for plastic containers six months ago. A new report on recycling rates is due soon; it would be nice to see the rate closer to the 90% rate that states achieve dealing in nickels and dimes instead of pennies.

Californians drink 12 billion beers and soft drinks a year. Recycling the containers would relieve municipal landfills, reduce litter, save on energy and reward consumers. That is clearly a nickel’s worth.