Winning Through Recycling : State ups the ante to a nickel and, bingo, the program starts cooking

California consumers are starting to return empty beer and soda containers at record rates. The volume of recycled empties took a huge jump after the state shrewdly boosted the refund value from a penny per empty to a nickel for every pair of cans or bottles. The higher incentive is working to get litter off of roads, parks and beaches.

The recycling figures are up in every category. Nearly 72% of all beverage containers were returned during the first six months of this year. And the rate of returns more than doubled for plastic containers. The recycling of glass bottles increased by 69%. And aluminum cans--traditionally recycled at a respectable 50% rate or higher because of the lucrative scrap value--were also tossed into more return bins.

The combined recycling works out to 249,000 tons of empty drink containers. Reusing those bottles and cans instead of tossing them into the trash will take a big load off of swollen landfills. Recycling also saves on energy, an important consideration at this sensitive time.

The original bottle law was a laborious compromise forged after two decades of battles between environmentalists allied with consumers versus bottlers allied with grocers. It didn’t take effect until 1987. The initial penny reward, however, elicited low returns.

The disappointing numbers demonstrated that too few Californians would bother storing empties and ferrying them to recycling centers, reverse vending machines or other depots in exchange for a single penny per container.

Finally the Legislature upped the ante, approving three nickels for a six-pack of empties instead of a handful of pennies. A nickel is a large enough reward to motivate thrifty consumers, industrious children and hard-working poor and homeless people who scavenge for the empties.

Californians annually consume 12 billion sodas and beers. Those empty containers belong in a return bin. Recycling pays off with nickels that quickly add up, as well as big environmental dividends.