FYs 2023–24 and 2024–25 Beverage Container Redemption Innovation Grant Program

Criteria | Eligibility | Funding |Timeline and Cycle Details | Grant Administration Documents

The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) administers a program to provide opportunities to provide funding for mobile unit programs, reverse vending machines, or bag drop programs for dealer cooperatives. Dealer cooperatives are nonprofit stewardship organizations formed for the purpose of providing redemption opportunities pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 14578 (a)(2) and consist of dealer members and have an approved dealer cooperative stewardship plan.

Criteria

Approval of Criteria, March 18, 2025

Eligibility

Applicants

Dealer Cooperatives. A Dealer Cooperative is a stewardship organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and formed for the purpose of providing redemption opportunities pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and consists of member dealers and has an approved dealer cooperative redemption plan. A dealer cooperative is voluntary for a dealer to join pursuant to Section 14578.

Projects

All projects must be located within an unserved zone identified within the CalRecycle approved dealer cooperative stewardship plan.

Mobile Programs.
- Consists of either redemption in person through staffed systems that is moved between different redemption locations.
- Pickup-service redemption at the consumer’s addresses within unserved zones.
Bag Drop Programs. Consists of consumers depositing empty beverage containers in a sealable bag, box, or other container into a designated Bag Drop receptacle for later collection and redemption.
Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Programs. Consists of deployment of automated machines that accept empty beverage containers and provide payment to customers at time of deposit.

Funding

$40,000,000 available for fiscal years (FYs) 2023–24 and 2024–25
The minimum requested amount must be at least $500,000. The maximum requested amount must not exceed $10,000,000 per grant award.

Timeline and Cycle Details

Dates	Activity and Details
December 18, 2025	Question and Answer Period and Due Date Questions may be submitted from application release date to this date Questions regarding the application and its requirements must be submitted in writing via e-mail to BevContainerGrants@calrecycle.ca.gov Questions and answers (Q&A) will be posted periodically during the Q&A period. It is the applicant's responsibility to check the Q&A web page regularly to ensure that they are aware of all program details.
June 30, 2026	Application Due Date Application Guidelines and Instructions Application Access: applications must be submitted via the Grants Management System (GMS) by this date. Customer service will only be provided until 4:00 p.m. on the application due date. If you are unable to access GMS or need assistance you may send an email to Grant.Assistance@calrecycle.ca.gov
Ongoing through July 30, 2026	Secondary Due Date - Required Authorization Documents and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Practices(EPPP) Policy Approved Resolution, Letter of Commitment, or any other Applicant’s Required Authorization Documents must be uploaded in GMS by this date if it was not submitted with the application. If the applicant does not have an EPPP Policy at the time of application, an EPPP Policy must be adopted by this date.
Ongoing through October 2026	Grants Awarded CalRecycle considers funding recommendations, and if approved, conditionally awards grants in this month (tentative).
Notice to Proceed – April 1, 2028	Grant Performance Period Grantee may incur costs after the issuance of the Notice to Proceed to this date.
April 1, 2028	Deadline for Final Report and final Payment Request

Grant Administration Documents

Terms and Conditions

Notice: Submission of an application constitutes an acknowledgment that you have read these Terms and Conditions and understood and agreed that they will be part of the Grant Agreement upon an award of any grant funds.

The text of these Terms and Conditions may not be altered, changed or revised in any way, except in writing by mutual agreement of the parties pursuant to the Amendment provision herein. In the event of any dispute regarding the content of these Terms and Conditions, the original document contained in the grant cycle file located at the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 will control. These Terms and Conditions are applicable only to the specified cycle and/or Fiscal Year of the particular grant program specified.

If you require assistance in obtaining access to this document, please use the contact information at the bottom of this page.

Procedures and Requirements

Notice: These Procedures and Requirements are in draft form. Upon issuance of Grant Agreement, these Procedures and Requirements shall become final.

The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery reserves the right to make any necessary changes to the Procedures and Requirements prior to issuance of the Grant Agreement. Any such changes will be non-negotiable. In the event that any changes are made to the Procedures and Requirements, all Grantees will be notified as to what specific changes have been made.

Once the Grant Agreement has been issued and the Procedures and Requirements have become final, the text of the incorporated Procedures and Requirements may not be altered, changed or revised in any way, except in writing by mutual agreement of the parties pursuant to the Amendment provision contained in the Terms and Conditions. In the event of any dispute regarding the content of the incorporated Procedures and Requirements, the original document contained in the grant cycle file located at the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 will control. These Procedures and Requirements are applicable only to the specific cycle and/or Fiscal Year of the particular grant program specified.