Orange County will see six new recycling sites at supermarket chain Smart & Final locations next year.
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery recently awarded nearly $70 million in innovation grants to recyclers, supermarkets and community groups that the department said would bring more than 250 new recycling sites across 30 counties and bolster recycling by way of reverse vending machines, mobile recycling and bag-drop sites around the state.
The money is coming from the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction program in last year’s state budget, said CalRecycle spokesperson Lance Klug.
Of the $70 million, CalRecycle said supermarket chains Save Mart and Smart & Final will receive over $2 million each for reverse vending machines in 19 counties, including in Orange County.
The exact locations for the new six reverse vending machines in Orange County are set to be finalized in the coming months and implemented throughout 2025, said Klug.
Smart & Final, which was formerly the Santa Ana Wholesale Grocery Company, has more than 20 locations in Orange County.
The portion of the Smart & Final grant that will result in the new sites in Orange County is $270,000, Klug said.
While there are various types of automated reverse vending machines, they generally work by consumers inserting an empty beverage container into a machine and receiving cash in return.
According to CalRecycle, eligible beverage containers are made of aluminum, glass, plastic and bi-metal and include containers that are boxes, bladders or pouches containing wine, distilled spirits, wine coolers or distilled spirit coolers.
Consumers will receive 5 cents for containers less than 24 ounces and 10 cents for containers 24 ounces or more. For boxes, bladders or pouches containing wine, distilled spirits, wine coolers or distilled spirit coolers, consumers will receive 25 cents.
“Innovative ways to recycle will help more Californians cash in their beverage containers and provide recycled materials for in-state remanufacturers,” CalRecycle director Zoe Heller said. “These new sites will make redemption as simple as feeding containers into a machine or dropping off a bag of empty containers.”
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