Andrew from Earthwize had to announce the company's new policy on milk jugs
By Marcia E. Gawecki
On Monday, Jan. 16, Earthwize, the recycling center near the Stater Bros. in Hemet, announced a new policy.
They are no longer taking non-CA CRV plastic milk jugs or 100% juice containers.
“We just got an email this morning saying that it’s our new policy,” said Andrew, who has worked at Earthwize for four months. “It’s got to say ‘California CRV’ on it, or we can’t take it.”
Before Monday, Earthwize would allow recyclers to intermingle their non-CRV milk and juice jugs with their other CA-CRV plastic bottles. For example, empty milk jugs would be mixed and weighed with Coke and Pepsi containers.
You can tell what is recyclable and what isn’t by looking for the ‘CA CRV’ redemption symbol printed on the bottles.
“The milk jugs would add more weight and give them a little bit more, but not much,” said Andrew.
According to Earthwize’s overhead sign, the company would pay $1.43 a pound for mixed plastic bottles (including CA CRV and non-CRV) or $1.54 a pound for pure CA CRV plastic containers. That is, until Monday.
Taking these recyclables without California CRV was more of a courtesy for our company, Andrew said. He would just store them in a separate container the back and someone would pick them up and dispose of them.
Andrew explains the new policy to a customer
“We’d get about 100 of those plastic jugs a day,” he said. “They were taking up a lot of space.”
Andrew thinks the new policy may be a space saver for the company, but more than likely, it was the State of California that determined the new recycling policy.
“The state evaluates all of the recycling centers, from time to time,” Andrew explained. “Then they take into account all that is recyclable and what isn’t.”
The State of California sets the policy, our company doesn’t, he added.
The state must’ve determined that penny glass (wine bottles) weren’t cost-effective either. Most recycling places won’t take them now, but the Transfer Station in Idyllwild will.
Each person who came up to the Earthwize recycling center in Hemet that morning got the verbal announcement about the new policy from Andrew. Most of them took it in stride, but one guy got angry.
“What am I supposed to do with all of them now?” he asked Andrew.
“They are supposed to take them back with them, but a few people dropped them into my trash bins when I wasn’t looking,” Andrew said.
Hopefully, Earthwize will revise their sign soon, so Andrew won’t have to make their new policy announcement 100 times a day.
Andrew points to the former Earthwize price for mixed plastic bottles
He didn’t seem to mind, however.
For more information about Earthwize and their recycling policies, call (909) 605-5770 or visit www.earthwizerecycling.com.
Earthwize is based out of Ontario, California, but has recycling centers all over the state. The closest one to Idyllwild is at the bottom of the hill, next to the Stater Bros.
Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.
the attachments to this post:
Earth Wise Andrew Sign
Earth Wise A customer
Earth Wise Andrew
Hi, I am with the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), which oversees the state’s beverage container recycling program. I am writing to clarify aspects of this story.
Since milk jugs are not subject to California Redemption Value, CRV buyback centers are not obligated to take them. They may pay a lower per-pound refund (the “commingled rate”) for loads with both CRV and non-CRV containers if they choose, but are not obligated to.
With regard to containers of 100-percent fruit juice, only those 46 ounces and larger are not subject to CRV. Containers of 100-percent fruit juice less than 46 ounces are subject to CRV.
The story incorrectly lists the minimum per-pound refund rates for plastic. The rates cited are for aluminum. The correct minimum refund rates for plastic are as follows: No. 1 PET = 93 cents per pound for CRV-only loads, 73 for “commingled” loads. No. 2 HDPE = 55 cents/CRV-only, 21 cents for commingled loads.
It should be noted that although milk jugs and larger fruit juice containers are not included in the CRV program, these containers are still recyclable. The same is true for wine bottles. The beverages and containers included in the program are stipulated in legislation.