California Bottle Bill: CRV Deposits, Redemption, and Limits

California’s CRV deposit is a refundable charge added to most beverage containers sold in the state: 5 cents on containers under 24 fluid ounces, 10 cents on containers of 24 ounces or larger, and 25 cents on wine or distilled spirits sold in boxes, bladders, or pouches. You pay it at checkout and get the full amount back when you return the empty container to a certified recycling center, a reverse vending machine, a bag-drop site, or a participating retailer.¹ The program is run by CalRecycle and goes by the name California Redemption Value.

The 25-cent tier exists because multi-layer packaging like boxed wine needs different processing than a standard bottle or can.²

Which Drinks Carry a CRV Deposit

CRV applies to eligible beverages packaged in aluminum, glass, plastic, or bi-metal.¹ The covered list includes carbonated soft drinks, beer and malt beverages, sparkling and still water, coffee and tea drinks, sports drinks, noncarbonated fruit drinks containing any percentage of juice, and noncarbonated soft drinks.³

Two 2024 changes expanded the list. SB 1013 added wine, distilled spirits, and wine or spirit coolers above 7% alcohol by volume, covering traditional glass bottles along with boxes, bladders, and pouches. SB 353 added 100% fruit juice containers of 46 ounces or more and 100% vegetable juice containers over 16 ounces.¹ Manufacturers of these newly covered products have until July 1, 2026, to add CRV labeling, so some bottles on shelves right now may not yet display it.³

What’s Not Covered

Several common containers are excluded from the program:

Milk, in any size or material.
Infant formula and medical food.
Juice boxes, juice pouches, and shelf-stable cartons, even when the beverage inside would otherwise qualify.
Jars, cans, or bottles that hold food rather than a beverage.

The carton exclusion catches people off guard. A plastic bottle of apple juice carries CRV; the same juice in a cardboard carton with a foil lining does not.⁴

How to Confirm a Container Has CRV

Every eligible container sold in California must display one of five approved phrases on the label or lid:

CALIFORNIA REDEMPTION VALUE
CA REDEMPTION VALUE
CALIFORNIA CASH REFUND
CA CASH REFUND
CA CRV

On aluminum cans the marking is usually stamped on the top. On bottles it appears on the paper label or is embossed in the glass or plastic. If none of these phrases appears, no deposit was charged and nothing can be refunded.³

Where to Get Your Deposit Back

You have a few redemption options, and which one is practical depends on where you live.

Certified Recycling Centers

Standalone recycling centers are the most direct route. You bring sorted containers, the center counts or weighs them, and you walk out with cash or a receipt. CalRecycle keeps a searchable database where you can enter a zip code to find nearby locations.⁵

Reverse Vending Machines and Bag-Drop Sites

Reverse vending machines accept containers one by one and print a redemption receipt. Bag-drop programs let you leave a tagged bag of containers and get credited to an account later. Both have expanded in recent years as centers have closed.⁶

In-Store Retailer Redemption

Large beverage retailers in a one-mile convenience zone around a supermarket that has no nearby recycling center must either take containers in the store or join a dealer cooperative that handles redemption. As of January 1, 2025, dealers in unserved zones have 60 days after notice from CalRecycle to pick an option. These stores must post a sign of at least 10 by 15 inches at every public entrance explaining where and how customers can redeem.⁷

Curbside Recycling

Putting CRV containers in your curbside bin is convenient, but it forfeits your deposit. The material still gets recycled; the refund goes to the hauler.

Count or Weight: How the Refund Is Figured

Recycling centers can pay you by individual count or by weight. A count pays the exact per-container value (5, 10, or 25 cents), but you can only request a count on up to 50 containers of each material type per visit.⁵ For small loads, this is almost always the better choice, and you have the right to ask for it up to that cap.

For larger loads, containers are weighed and converted using per-pound rates CalRecycle sets each year. The 2026 rates at recycling centers are:

Aluminum: $1.66 per pound
Glass: $0.101 per pound
PET plastic (#1): $1.46 per pound

Weight rates are set to approximate the per-container refund, but the math can run slightly for or against you depending on how heavy your specific containers are.⁸ Lightweight aluminum cans in particular tend to pay a little less by weight than by count. If you have under 50 of any material, ask for a count.

Daily Limits and When ID Is Required

Centers enforce per-person load limits each day: up to 100 pounds each of aluminum and plastic, and up to 1,000 pounds of glass. Anything over those limits can be refused or paid at a lower scrap rate instead of the full CRV.⁵

You will need to show government-issued ID once your refund hits $100 or more for standard containers. For bag-in-box, multi-layer pouch, and paperboard carton containers, the ID threshold is lower, at $15 or more.⁹ It’s a fraud-prevention measure, so expect the attendant to ask on larger loads.

When a Center Can Refuse Your Containers

Centers do not have to accept everything. Containers heavily contaminated with dirt or moisture, or missing the required CRV label, can be turned away without payment. Centers must post a sign saying no refund is paid for packaging, contamination, or improperly labeled containers.¹⁰

Loads containing pieces of densified bales or compressed biscuits of cans are ineligible for refund, and the same rule applies to plastic from baled material. Ordinary flattened cans are fine; industrially compressed material is not.¹⁰

Bag-in-box containers like boxed wine have stricter rules. Each unit must be intact, with the interior flexible bag still connected to the dispensing valve and still inside the exterior box. A separated bag, valve, or box on its own is not eligible, and these containers must be kept separate from other materials when you bring them in.¹⁰

Don’t Try Out-of-State Containers

Only containers sold in California have CRV paid on them, so bringing in empties from another state and claiming a refund is fraud against the state’s recycling fund.¹¹ Anyone moving empty containers into California by motor vehicle must follow strict reporting rules if the load exceeds 25 pounds of aluminum, bi-metal, or plastic, or 250 pounds of glass. The vehicle has to enter through a staffed California Department of Food and Agriculture border inspection station, and the operator must file an Imported Material Report, allow a vehicle inspection, and keep the paperwork for five years.¹²

Penalties scale with the amount. Fraud exceeding $950 can be charged as a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000. At or below that amount, it is a misdemeanor carrying up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.¹³

1
CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling
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CalRecycle. Wine and Distilled Spirits
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CalRecycle. Beverage Container Labeling Requirements
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CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling Basics
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CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling for Consumers
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CalRecycle. Over 250 New Recycling Sites Coming to 30 CA Counties
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CalRecycle. Retailers/Dealers
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CalRecycle. 2026 Recycling Program Rates Effective January 1, 2026
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CalRecycle. SB 1013 Initial Statement of Reasons
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CalRecycle. SB 1013 Proposed Regulation Text
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Justia Law. California Code PRC 14595-14599
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CalRecycle. Imported Empty Beverage Container Reporting and Inspection Program
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California Legislative Information. California Code PRC – Division 12.1, Chapter 8, Section 14591