The State Of California Recycling Centers
A Harmony T60XDRC being installed at a Bakersfield, California recycling center.
According to the Container Recycling Institute, California has lost 50% of their recycling centers between 2013 and 2022. A recent CRI report states “the redemption center closures have stemmed primarily from an outdated state subsidy formula that results in severe underpayments to the centers to supplement the scrap values of recycled materials.”
California Recycling Centers & Manufacturers Incentivized By “Bottle Bill”
Newer legislation signed into law in the state is intended to curb this trend. Numerous provisions in SB 1013 will add almost $900 million in recycling program spending over a six-year period, CRI said.
Another $379 million in recycling spending, passed in separate state budget bill AB 179, will provide CalRecycle with funding for beverage container recycling and litter reduction efforts. This includes $73 million for startup costs for items such as recycling programs, recycling centers, mobile recycling, reverse vending machines and bag drops, and $30 million for startup loans for processors and recyclers.
The bill serves two purposes: to reduce litter pollution and to reduce reliance on virgin resources through recycling. The bills helps both the economy and the environment. More recycled containers means less end up in landfills, and more produced by recycled, versus virgin materials.
New CA legislation incentivizes both recycling centers and manufacturers to recycle plastic containers.
This is great news for California recycling centers, whether they are startups or existing recyclers who want to create satellite locations as part of the state’s convenience zones. The new zones are required to include recycling centers that redeem all California Redemption (CRV) containers!
In addition to new funding for equipment and programs, recyclers will have an influx of plastic containers to recycle. This is because California’s Bottle Bill has many extended producer responsibility elements, including the processing payment/fee. Manufacturers of beverage containers must pay a fee that contributes to a payment recyclers receive. This fee offsets the cost between the cost to recycle a container like #3-7 plastic, and the value that type of that recycled material. In short, California’s Bottle Bill incentivizes both the manufacturers to produce with a sustainability mindset, and recyclers to get into the plastics recycling market.
Your Recycling Center Resource
If you operate a California based recycling center, or are considering leveraging some of the legislative funding to start a recycling center in California, Harmony is here to help. We partner with recycling centers all over the country to provide them with state-of-the-art equipment and service.
Machines like our T60XDRC conveyor fed automatic vertical baler have been in high demand for use in recycling centers, transfer stations, redemption centers, by manufacturers who generate non-ferrous by-products, and in plastic production facilities. It handles large volumes of plastic beverage containers with ease.
There is no other machine on the market like Harmony’s T60XDRC. With its 10″ cylinder and 235,620 lbs. of ram force (106,875 kg), 150 psi, it is able to bale a variety of recycling center products that other balers simply cannot. The “beefy” cleats of the conveyor system are 38% thicker than a standard cleat and the entire baler set up can be placed in an in-ground or above ground configuration.
Here are just a few case studies regarding the success of this innovative recycling center baler:
Wayne County (PA) Recycling – https://harmony1.com/a-generation-of-service/
Community Recycling Center (Morehead, KY) –https://harmony1.com/community-recycling-centers/
Invema (Honduras) – https://harmony1.com/honduras-invema-corporation-at-the-heart-of-recycling/
Recycling Center Balers – https://harmony1.com/what-balers-do-recycling-companies-use/
“The T-60 is one of our original balers and has done an amazing job for us! It always makes a tight and heavy bale, and the fact that we’ve had it this long speaks to its reliability.”
-Randy Heller, Wayne County Solid Waste Director and Recycling Coordinator
If the T60XDRC isn’t the right solution for you, Harmony manufactures the widest range of waste and recycling equipment on the market. Our M42HD vertical baler and HM-60 Horizontal Baler are also popular choices for recycling professionals.
Contact Harmony Today!
When the time is right, give us a call at (507) 886-6666 or fill out this simple form to reach our our experienced and friendly sales staff. We offer free quotes, no-obligation site reviews, and referrals from recycling professionals in California and throughout North and South America. We will work with you to ensure that whatever recycling baler you choose is right for your specific operation. Contact Harmony Today!
