Glass is recyclable in California, and you have two main ways to recycle it. Beverage bottles marked with a California Redemption Value (CRV) label can be returned to a certified recycling center for a cash refund of 5 cents or 10 cents per container. Most other glass food and beverage containers go in your curbside recycling bin. A handful of glass items, though, do not belong in either stream.
What CRV Pays You Back for Glass Bottles
California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program adds a small CRV fee to eligible beverages at the register, and you get that money back when you return the empty container.1CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling The refund is 5 cents for containers under 24 ounces and 10 cents for containers 24 ounces or larger.2CalRecycle. California Recycling Program Rates – January 1, 2026
Eligible glass bottles include those that held beer, wine coolers, soda, carbonated and noncarbonated water, coffee and tea drinks, sport drinks, fruit drinks with any percentage of juice, and vegetable juice in containers of 16 ounces or smaller.3CalRecycle. Beverage Subject to California Refund Value (CRV) Milk bottles, wine bottles, and distilled spirits bottles are not part of CRV. You can still recycle those, just not for a refund.
Glass You Can Put in the Curbside Bin
Most California curbside programs take food and beverage glass containers made from standard soda-lime glass. That covers pasta sauce jars, salsa containers, jam jars, condiment bottles, and any other glass food packaging, along with beverage bottles that qualify for CRV if you’d rather not make the trip to a redemption center.
Some facilities sort glass by color (clear, brown, and green) because mixed colors produce lower-quality recycled material. Single-stream programs accept all colors together, but the resulting glass is harder to turn back into new bottles. Your local hauler’s website will tell you which system your city uses.
Glass That Contaminates the Recycling Stream
Several common household items look recyclable but will ruin a batch of recycled glass if they end up in the bin. Different glass types melt at different temperatures, and additives in specialty glass carry over into the finished product.
Keep these out of curbside recycling:
- Window glass and mirrors, which have coatings and a different composition than container glass.
- Pyrex and other ovenware, which are made from borosilicate or tempered glass with a much higher melting point.
- Drinking glasses and crystal, which often contain lead or other metals.
- Light bulbs. Incandescent bulbs have metal parts, and compact fluorescents contain mercury.
- Ceramics and pottery. Even a small ceramic shard can cause defects in a new glass container.
A single one of these items can send an otherwise good load to the landfill.
How to Prep Bottles and Jars
Rinse each container to remove food residue before you toss it in the bin.4Republic Services. Glass Recycling It doesn’t need to be spotless. A quick swirl of water is enough to prevent mold and odors and to keep the container from being rejected as contaminated.
Labels can stay on. They burn off during melting. Metal caps and plastic lids should generally come off because they’re processed in separate streams. Ask your local hauler whether caps go in the trash or in a separate bin.
Where to Return CRV Bottles
CalRecycle runs a searchable online tool that lists certified recycling centers by address.5CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling Centers Certified centers are where you redeem CRV containers for cash.
Finding an open center has gotten harder. Over a thousand certified recycling centers across California have closed in recent years. When no recycling center operates within a half-mile of a supermarket, that supermarket is legally required to redeem CRV containers itself or pay a daily fee to the state. Enforcement is uneven, so you may need to try more than one location. The CalRecycle finder is the most reliable way to see what’s actually open near you.1CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling
Bringing bottles to a redemption center also produces cleaner recycled glass than curbside collection, because the containers arrive pre-sorted and unbroken. If you have the option, it’s the better route for CRV items.
Getting Rid of Glass That Isn’t Recyclable
Glass that can’t go in curbside recycling still needs safe disposal. Window glass, mirrors, and tempered ovenware can go in regular trash if wrapped in newspaper or placed in a sturdy bag so sanitation workers don’t get cut. Wrap or box broken glass before it goes in the garbage.
Compact fluorescent bulbs and older cathode-ray tube monitors are hazardous waste. CFLs contain mercury and CRT glass contains lead, so they can’t go in the trash or recycling. California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control coordinates household hazardous waste collection through permanent and temporary sites statewide.6California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Household Hazardous Waste Most counties run periodic collection events or a year-round drop-off site. Your city or county waste management page will have the schedule.
Rules for Businesses and Apartment Buildings
California’s mandatory commercial recycling law applies to any business generating four or more cubic yards of solid waste per week and any multifamily residential building with five or more units. If you cross that threshold, you have to arrange recycling service, whether by subscribing to a recycling hauler, self-hauling recyclables, or arranging separate pickup.7CalRecycle. Mandatory Commercial Recycling Glass is a common part of commercial waste for restaurants, bars, and grocery stores.
Businesses below the threshold aren’t required by state law to recycle, but many local jurisdictions have stricter ordinances. Your city’s solid waste division can confirm what applies to your operation.