Calif. May Require Beverage Makers to Handle Recycling

SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) – California lawmakers are considering upending the state’s struggling bottle and can recycling program by requiring beverage distributors to create a new system to take back their own containers.

A Senate committee is set to consider the proposal Wednesday as part of a plan that also would add wine and liquor bottles to the program.

California is one of 10 states where consumers must pay a 5- or 10-cent deposit on bottles and cans that they can redeem when they turn in those containers. But about half of California’s recycling centers have closed in recent years, leaving consumers more likely to toss containers in the garbage.