Every bottle, can, box, and pouch of wine or distilled spirits sold at retail in California carries a California Redemption Value deposit of 5, 10, or 25 cents, added at checkout and refunded in full when you bring the empty container to a certified recycling center. The California CRV on wine and spirits took effect January 1, 2024, when SB 1013 folded these categories into the state’s existing Beverage Container Recycling Program for the first time.
How Much Each Container Is Worth
Public Resources Code Section 14560 sets three deposit tiers based on container size and format:1California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code PRC 14560
- 5 cents for any container holding less than 24 fluid ounces. Most single-serve canned wines, mini spirit bottles, and small plastic containers fall here.
- 10 cents for any container holding 24 fluid ounces or more. A standard 750 mL wine bottle holds about 25.4 fluid ounces and qualifies, as do 1-liter and 1.75-liter spirit bottles.
- 25 cents for any box, bladder, or pouch containing wine or distilled spirits, regardless of volume. A 3-liter bag-in-box earns the same 25 cents as a single-serve pouch.
The higher rate on boxes and pouches reflects the added difficulty of recycling multilayer flexible packaging.
Which Wine and Spirits Containers Carry CRV
SB 1013 amended Public Resources Code Section 14504 to cover wine (including dealcoholized and sparkling wine) and distilled spirits in any container, regardless of material.2LegiScan. California SB1013 2021-2022 Regular Session In practice, that means:
- Glass bottles of any size, from miniatures to 1.75-liter spirit bottles.
- Aluminum cans, including canned wines and ready-to-drink spirit cocktails.
- Plastic bottles, including PET.
- Bimetal (steel-aluminum composite) containers.
- Bag-in-box wine, where both the outer box and the inner bladder are part of the program.
- Standalone wine and spirit pouches and bladders.
If it held wine or distilled spirits and was sold at a California retailer, it almost certainly carries CRV.3CalRecycle. SB 1013 Addition of New Beverage Containers Permanent Regulations
What’s Not Covered
A couple of boundaries are worth knowing. Bottles opened and poured on-site at a tasting room are exempt, because they are never sold as sealed retail products.4CalRecycle. SB 1013 Implementation: Wine and Distilled Spirits Separately, wine and spirit containers that were filled and labeled before January 1, 2024 are permanently exempt from CRV labeling requirements, so older library wines may not display a CRV message. Those containers still carry redemption value at the recycling center even without the label.
Getting Your Refund at a Recycling Center
Bring your empties to a certified recycling center. CalRecycle keeps a searchable locator at its recycling center directory, where you can find the nearest facility by ZIP code.
Two refund methods are available, and the one you qualify for depends on how much you bring in. If you have 50 or fewer containers of each material type in a single visit (say, 50 glass bottles plus 50 aluminum cans), you can ask for a count-based refund and receive the exact per-container CRV: 30 standard wine bottles at 10 cents each pays out $3.00.5CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling Program for Consumers
Above that threshold, the center weighs your containers and applies state-published per-pound rates. As of January 2026, those rates are roughly $1.66 per pound for aluminum and $0.101 per pound for glass, with lower figures for various plastics.6CalRecycle. California Recycling Program Rates – January 1, 2026 Weight-based payouts usually come out slightly below the per-container value, so if you are anywhere near 50 containers of a given material, ask for the count. The center sorts the containers, confirms they are CRV-eligible, and pays you in cash or a redeemable voucher before you leave.
What to Do If There’s No Recycling Center Nearby
CalRecycle divides the state into “convenience zones.” When a zone has no certified recycling center, the retailers inside that zone take on the obligation. Since January 1, 2025, retailers in unserved zones must pick one of two paths:7CalRecycle. Retailers/Dealers
- Accept empty CRV containers in-store and pay out the refund directly to customers.
- Join a dealer cooperative, pooling with other local retailers to fund a shared solution such as a collection site or reverse vending machine.8CalRecycle. Dealer Cooperatives Program
The older option that let retailers pay a $100-per-day fee to the state and refuse returns is gone. If you live in a zone that lacks a recycling center, the store where you bought the wine or spirits is now part of the refund chain, either at the register or through a cooperative-run drop point. When CalRecycle designates a new unserved zone, affected retailers get 60 days’ notice before they must begin redeeming.7CalRecycle. Retailers/Dealers