CalRecycle this month highlighted investments in circular economy initiatives, including $10 million to expand beverage container redemption.
Circular CRV Solutions, which operates Recycle Depot on behalf of beverage retailers, received a Beverage Container Redemption Innovation Grant to fund additional California Redemption Value (CRV) cash-in sites across the state. The organization will add mobile recycling and bag drop-off redemption services, “including in communities that are underserved or have limited access to redemption opportunities,” the agency noted.
California has expanded what it collects under its bottle bill in recent years, adding wine and distilled spirits and certain juice containers.
“These investments will make recycling more convenient, support good-paying jobs, and help turn discarded materials into valuable new products,” CalRecycle Director Zoe Heller said in a statement regarding a $41 million tranche that also funds youth job training through Local Conservation Corps and supports textile recycling efforts by Peerless Materials Co.
Separately, Pacific Northwest refillable wine bottle operator Revino detailed a planned expansion in California that’s being supported by a CalRecycle grant awarded this year. The grant is under the Beverage Container Recycling Program, coming from 2022-2023 general funds in the annual budget, the company clarified.
The Newberg, Oregon-based company recently highlighted how the approximately $4.87 million grant will help enable a bottle-washing facility in Lompoc, California. Revino also aims to raise another $5 million to support the facility buildout, costs and future expansion. It’s “still actively looking for collaborators,” according to spokesperson Sarah Reid. Revino hopes the wash facility will be up and running come late 2027.
The site is intended to process 10 million bottles annually. Lompoc was chosen for its proximity to the Santa Barbara wine industry and Los Angeles. “Napa and Sonoma can be serviced from this site and/or Oregon until demand for wash services picks up,” Reid explained in an email.
Revino says it already has some California customers, including Ehlers Estate in Napa. It also has pilots underway with Silver Oak and Etude Winery, Reid said. Additionally, the company has been collaborating with beverage packaging wholesaler Saxco “to be able to service and onboard customers into the reusable bottle program anytime,” and is in discussions with “dozens” of other potential partners.
While wash equipment at the site will be used exclusively by Revino, the company is “open to collaborating” and chose equipment that could service market segments beyond wine bottles, Reid said. There is also some office space at the site that will be made available to nonprofits in the region.
Since launching in Oregon in 2022, Revino says it has sold 1.9 million reusable bottles. The bottles are manufactured by O-I Glass in California and Washington. Revino says it has partnered with 120 wine brands and established more than 100 return locations.
