08 - A - California Redemption Value (CRV) Analysis Costa Mesa Sanitary District …an Independent Special District Protecting our community’s health and t he environment by providing solid waste and sewer collection services. www.cmsdca.gov Memorandum To: Operations Committee From: Scott Carroll, General Manager Date: April 16 , 2013 Subject: California Redemption Value (CRV) Analysis Summary In an effort to encourage people to recycle, the California Redemption Value (CRV) was created under the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act that refunds empty bottles and cans when said materials are redeemed at a recycling center. The program starts with a payment made to the California Department of Conservation by beverage distributors on each beverage container sold in the state. The idea here is that manufacturers have a responsibility to reduce the amount of waste their products create. This cost is passed on to the retailer and eventually reaches the consumer a t the checkout stand in the form of CRV, 5 cents on containers less than 24 ounces, 10 cents on containers 24 ounces or greater. When consumers return their empty beverage containers to certified recycling centers, they recoup the CRV. At the end of the l ine, the Department of Conservation repays the recycling centers out of the money that was paid in at the beginning by the beverage distributors. Staff Recommendation That the Operations Committee receive s and file s this report. Analysis Companies that operate a curbside collection program and a recycling center can receive CRV value from the bottles and cans collected from curbside. Currently, CR&R Environmental Services separates CMSD’s curbside recyclables at their Material Recovery Facility (MRF) i n Stanton because CMSD provides a co -mi ngling collection program. CR&R claims the CRV value using their drop -off/collection program number.
Operations Committee April 16, 2013 Page 2 of 3 According the CalRecycle, the state agency that administers the CRV program, the CRV paid to CR&R is at the drop -off/collection commingled rate, which is much lower than the rate paid at recycling centers, as shown in the table s that are attached hereto as Attachment A. On February 4, 2013, staff requested from CalRecycle CMSD’s aggregate volume dat a of recyclables c laimed from CR&R’s recycling center for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. On February 8 th , staff received the data from CalRecycle (Attachment B ). According to CalRecycle they do not know , nor can they confirm the volumes in Attachment B are exclusively fr om CMSD. CalRecycle assumes some of the volumes are from other communities and/or clients served by CR&R. This was confirmed from CR &R that the data in Attachment B is the total CRV volume claimed by CR&R at their transfer station . In the last three yea rs, CR&R’s annual average of CRV value for the entire operations at the transfer station is $1,229,124.97 . To determine the CRV value from CMSD, which includes aluminum, glass and plastic (PETE & HDPE), staff used CR&R’s monthly Recycling Reports that are presented to the Operations Committee . Staff also used assumptions to estimate CMSD CRV value. For example, broken glass does not have CRV value and must be loaded in CR&R’s “trail mix”, which has a disposal cost of $20.00 a ton. Because of CMSD commin gled collection operations, staff is assuming 80% of the glass has no CRV value when it reaches CR&R’s transfer station. Also, b ecause aluminum and plastic is more durable than glass, staff is assuming 95% of this material has CRV value Based on these a ssumptions, staff estimates CMSD’s average CRV value in the last three years is $839,880.61 . Please see Attachment C. However, CR&R believes CMSD’s CRV is 17% of the total CRV collected at the transfer station or a n average value of $208,951 , but staff co uld not confirm this amount because the CRV data from CR&R was not made available at the time this report was prepared. CR&R indicated that the data will be available at the May 21 st Operations Committee at which time staff will revise the District’s CRV value. Strategic Plan Element & Goal This item adheres to the objective and strategy of Strategic Element 2 .0, Sold Waste , which states: “Objective: Our objective is to manage the collection and recycling of residential trash in the most economical and e nvironmentally friendly way.
Operations Committee April 16, 2013 Page 3 of 3 Strategy: We will do this by looking for ways to improve efficiencies, achieve high customer satisfaction, and considering prudent new recycling methods.” Legal Review Not applicable Financial Review Staff believes the D istrict’s CRV value at CR&R’s transfer station can range from $208,951 to $839,880. Public Notice Process Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the entire agenda packet for the April 16 , 2013 Operations Committee regular meeting at D istrict Headquarters and on District’s website. Alternative Actions 1. Direct staff for more information Attachments A: CRV Drop -off/Collection Commingled Rate – 2010 through 2012 B: CMSD Aggregate Volumes for Drop -off/Collection Program C: CMSD CRV Val ue from 2010 through 2012