In 1986 California passed the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act which created a state-mandated recycling system. Under this law, certain beverage containers, for example, aluminum soda cans, are marked as recyclable.
Consumers pay an additional fee for each can purchased.
If consumers then turn the empty can into a recycling center, they receive the fee back. The ostensible goals of the 1986 law were to reduce litter and increase the number of containers that were recycled. Last year supporters claimed both these objectives have been achieved, and, given that track record, they pushed for an expansion of the law. That expansion has created complications that prompt me to present my Golden State Fleece Award to California s beverage container recycling program. The changes to the bill last year made more containers subject to recycling.