Carbonated Soft Drinks Recycling Bin Garbage or Drop-Off California consumers pay a CRV (California Redemption Value) fee when they purchase beverages and receive CRV refunds when they redeem these containers at a recycling center or retailer. CRV eligible beverages are packaged in aluminum, glass, plastic, or bimetal. What’s eligible for CRV: Beer and Malt Beverages Wine Coolers Carbonated & Noncarbonated Fruit Drinks Carbonated Water or Soft Drinks Coffee and Tea Beverages Juice packaged in glass, plastic, aluminum, or bimetal Wine or distilled spirits (liquor) in glass, plastic, aluminum, bimetal, boxes, bladders, and pouches What’s not eligible for CRV: Milk Medical Food Infant Formula Juice in a carton Food and Non-Beverage Containers What to Tell the CRV Attendant Inform the CRV site attendant of your load content and how you would like to receive payment before you hand over your load. Any consumer who has been denied this right by a recycling center can file a complaint via email or call 1-800-RECYCLE. Rinse Out Before Recycling Empty and rinse out beverage containers before recycling or redeeming them for cash. Moisture and dirt contaminate the recycling. A CRV site attendant may reject a pile if it is excessively contaminated. Leave Caps Attached to Plastic Bottles It’s OK to recycle caps and lids on plastic containers, as long as they are still attached to their original containers. Do Not Crush Cans You do not need to flatten or crush beverage containers. If you’re using an automated reverse vending machine (RVM), keep the containers as they are, so the machine can recognize the container type. If you are weighing them, they can be brought in whole or flattened. Did You Know? How Much Energy Does Recycling Soda Cans Save? A single new soda can (made with virgin aluminum) uses the same amount of energy as twenty soda cans that are made from recycled material. Also, recycling one soda can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours. How Quickly Are Soda Cans Recycled? It only takes about 60 days for soda cans to make it back onto store shelves after they are recycled.