Help with Beverage Container Recycling in California

CalRecycle is the California state department that oversees the state’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, including:

Stand-alone recycling centers
Retailer redemption locations

CalRecycle regulates operations of these businesses to ensure they follow this recycling program’s rules.

CalRecycle does not own or operate any recycling centers.

Answers to Common Questions

Find a Standalone Recycling Center
Find a Retailer Redemption Location
Find a Pilot Recycling Program
Download the CRV Info Sheet
How to Recycle Beverage Containers to Get Your CRV Refund
Changes to the CRV Program
Beverage Container Recycling Program page
Recycling Center Compliance Videos

File a Complaint

Filing a business complaint helps ensure beverage container recycling centers:

Follow state laws and
Provide fair, reliable recycling to the community

An asterisk * indicates a required field

Choose Your Complaint Topic: *

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and educate the retailer about their obligations to redeem CRV in the store.

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and address the incorrect CRV charges. CalRecycle has no legal authority to issue refunds

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and educate a recycling center on CRV refund requirements. CalRecycle has no legal authority to issue refunds.

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and educate a recycling center on requirements to redeem by count. CalRecycle has no legal authority to issue refunds.

Recycling centers and retailers who redeem CRV must redeem up to 50 containers by count for each material type per transaction, if requested by the customer.

But the customer cannot exceed these daily load limits for each material:

100 pounds of aluminum
100 pounds of plastic
1000 pounds of glass.

The law allows multiple transactions from the same customer per day.

When you reach your 50 count for a transaction, a recycling center may ask you to go to the end of the line for your next transactions.

Watch a YouTube video on the requirements.

Recycling centers are not owned or operated by the state of California.

Recycling center operators choose their own hours of operation and must post them clearly.

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and inform the recycling center about their obligation to remain open during their posted hours of operation.

Before filing a complaint, please verify the container type you attempted to redeem is part of the Beverage Container Recycling program by visiting the recycling basics page or downloading a flyer to view CRV-eligible containers.

Recycling centers may return non-eligible material to you or offer to pay scrap value for those containers.

Non-eligible containers include:

Milk
Medical food (e.g., children’s Pedialyte)
Infant formula
Juice boxes
Juice pouches
Juice cartons
Food containers (e.g., spaghetti sauce jar)
Non-beverage containers (e.g., detergent bottles)

If the recycling center refused to redeem an eligible container, you may file a complaint below. CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and inform the recycling center about their obligation to redeem all eligible CRV containers.

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and educate the retailer about their obligation to redeem CRV containers.

CalRecycle will investigate your complaint and educate the retailer or retailer redemption location about program requirements.

Recycling centers and retail redemption locations:

Are independent businesses.
Are not owned and operated by CalRecycle.

CalRecycle is legally authorized to investigate if recycling centers do not operate by program rules.

If you are dissatisfied with customer service:

You may redeem CRV material at another recycling center or retailer redemption location.
Provide a customer review on their Google or Yelp business profile.
Contact the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint.

What type of recycling program are you complaining about?

Recycling center
Retailer redemption location
General program feedback
Other

Your Contact Info

Your Name *

First

Last

Your Email *

Your Phone Number

Retailer Info

Recycling Center Info

Business Info

Name of Retailer (Dealer)*

Name of Recycling Center*

Name of Business*

Name of Retailer (Dealer) or Recycling Center *

Address of Retailer (Dealer)*

Address of Recycling Center*

Address of Business*

Address of Retailer (Dealer) or Recycling Center *

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Employee Name

Incident Info

Date and Time of Incident *

Date

Time

Posted Hours of Operation

Layout Center of

Opening Time

Closing Time

Description of Incident*

Please describe the reason the retailer gave for not reedeming material in store. Were they aware of their obligation to redeem CRV?

Please describe the type of containers that the recycling center declined to redeem.

Please note the reason the recycling center employee declined to redeem your CRV containers. For example: not enough cash on hand, closing for the day, etc.

Description of Incident *

Submit a Receipt or Photos from Incident

Click or drag files to this area to upload. You can upload up to 5 files.

Max file size of 25 MB each. Accepted formats include: .png, .gif, .jpg, .doc, .pdf

Reciept sample

Upload:

A copy of the transaction receipt.
Pictures of the products that included CRV redemption fees.
Any other information about the incident.

For CRV product pictures, upload several photos of the product with:

The name of the product.
The UPC barcode.

CalRecycle has no legal authority to address payment disputes but can educate the retailer (dealer) on program requirements.

CalRecycle has no legal authority to address payment disputes but can educate the business on program requirements.

CalRecycle has no legal authority to address payment disputes.