Home > Recycle > California Refund Value (CRV) Beverage Container Recycling

California Pays You to Recycle!

That's right, California is one of many states to have a so called "Bottle Bill" to encourage recycling of beverage containers. This page contains information about which containers are accepted as CRV and where you can redeem them.

If you recycle aluminum, glass, and plastic beverage containers at certain locations, you can get a little money back for your efforts. Containers under 24 ounces are worth 5 cents each, and containers 24 ounces or more are worth 10 cents.

You can read more about the specific types of materials on their individual pages: Metal Cans, Glass Containers, and Plastic Containers.

Who started the CRV?

The California Redemption Value (CRV for short) was started in 1987 under the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act. The program is currently administered by CalRecycle.  More information is available on their website at www.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/.

Pointers about CRV redemption

Some locations will only count your containers if they are in groups of 50 or less. Otherwise, they’ll weigh the containers and pay you based on the average. Also keep in mind that some sites won’t accept crushed containers.

Where to go