Valley Forum: Plastic recycling has been a success

The article “Bottle and Can Recycling Coming Back to Sonoma” published March 16 in the Sonoma I-T is misleading and inaccurate in its comments on beverage-bottle recycling.

I work for the Sonoma-based non-profit Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC) which was mentioned in the article. We handle approximately 45 percent of the 9 billion plastic PET beverage containers collected for recycling in California. The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, or AB 2020, aka the “Bottle Bill,” initiating the redemption of beverage bottles was enacted in 1987 and in those 34 years it has achieved one of the highest recycling rates in the country, averaging 74 percent (and as high as 84 percent) since 2016. This number can be improved with more local access to redemption centers and PRCC is supporting legislation to modernize the Bottle Bill for 21st century consumers.

We are thrilled Sonoma received a CalRecycle grant to bring a center back to our town! PET containers (or Polyethylene terephthalate) are identified by the triangle symbol with the number 1 inside and can be redeemed under the CRV beverage deposit system. While the article indicated otherwise, please know that just because there is no CRV value on some PET bottles (shampoo and cleaning products, etc.) it does not mean they are not being recycled. If consumers place them in their curbside blue recycling bins, they are most likely being recycled. What prevents a bottle from being recycled is not the collection system or if they are dirty, but more often it is the design of the bottle not being compatible with the recycling process.

The plastic-bottle industry has made significant advances in designing its bottles to be recyclable. The major advantage of a redemption center over the curbside blue bin, is that at the redemption center the bottles are not mixed in with food containers, paper and other items: less contamination means more efficiency for the converters. There are six converters in California that take PET bottles and convert them into the raw material used to make new bottles or clear packaging. PRCC buys from California recycling centers and curbside collectors and sells directly to all six of the converters. These six have more than enough capacity to convert all of California’s PET bottles collected for recycling.

California is the only U.S. state to require beverage containers to be made with a percentage of recycled PET: starting with 15 percent recycled content in 2022 and increasing to 50 percent in 2030. Some major beverage brands have already greatly exceeded the 15 percent minimum and this number continues to rise.

Recycling is expensive and requires considerable investment in order to be environmentally sound and economically viable. In California, the beverage industry pays a processing payment to help cover the cost of recycling and that payment increases when the scrap value or recycling rate of PET is low. What is more, the beverage industry supports our nonprofit Plastic Recycling Corporation of California to promote the reclamation and recycling of PET beverage containers and ensure stable markets for recycled PET bottles.

The facts speak for themselves. Rather than criticizing the 30-plus years of recycling in California, applaud it for being forward thinking and dynamic. Recycling is complicated, nuanced, technical, and above all a highly regulated manufacturing industry. Like all industries it needs modernization, innovation, technology, standardization and strong end markets. The industry has seen huge changes over the years because cooperation throughout the entire lifecycle of a bottle is key to making recycling successful. The benefits of recycling are undeniable: firstly, by using resources to their fullest potential; and, secondly, through energy savings from reprocessing.

Beverage container recycling in California is a success and I strongly urge readers to recycle their beverage containers. Please be assured that there is a robust recycling market in the state. Be the solution to ending waste, recovering resources and lowering energy use by continuing to reduce, reuse and recycle. For further information please use the following links and contact me if you have further questions.

Sally Houghton is the deputy executive director of the Plastic Recycling Corporation of California.