SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The State of California is approaching 550 billion beverage containers recycled as the deposit-return-recycling system marks 40 years of reducing litter, creating jobs and returning cash to consumers.
The Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act was signed into law on September 29, 1986, amid rising concern over litter, landfill space and natural resource depletion.
According to CalRecycle, Californians recycled a record 20.3 billion beverage containers in 2025 alone. That represents 71% of containers sold, providing manufacturers with clean material used to create new bottles, cans and other products.
“Over the past four decades, Californians have kept nearly 550 billion beverage containers out of our environment and landfills, putting money back in their pockets and supporting local businesses that turn empty beverage containers into new products,” CalRecycle Director Zoe Heller said. “New efforts are making it even easier for Californians to cash in and recycle more with modern technology and more recycling sites that meet consumers where they are.”
California was among the first states to pass a Bottle Bill and today runs the nation’s largest deposit-return-recycle system. Consumers pay a 5-, 10- or 25-cent CRV deposit on eligible beverages and redeem containers to be recycled at more than 1,400 recycling locations statewide.
The program supports 1,400 recycling centers, 637 curbside programs, 281 community and dropoff programs, 171 processors and 27 dealer cooperative redemption locations. It also includes 6,748 beverage manufacturers and 6,944 beverage distributors.
Modernization reforms are expanding convenience for consumers by adding wine, liquor and previously excluded juice containers to the program.
The updates also offer modern takeback options including reverse vending machines, mobile recycling and bag drop-off recycling.
CalRecycle
The program has prevented 52.5 million metric tons of CO2e, equal to taking 12.2 million cars off the road for a year.
Officials say the energy savings total 260.6 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power every California home for three years.
On average, Californians return approximately 37.6 million CRV containers a day, or 435 a second. Lined up, recycled beverage containers could make 48 round trips to the moon, or stretch 35 million miles to Mars.
CalRecycle
Californians can find their nearest recycling location at BottlesandCans.com.
For more information on eligible CRV containers, you are asked to visit CRVHelp.com.