Consumers upset 400+ SF retailers don't give cash back for recycling. Here's why

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- More than $1 million is spent on a San Francisco program that's supposed to encourage convenient, easy recycling - but public records tell a different story.

Pressure is mounting for Mayor London Breed to pull the plug on the program.

"Innovative... cutting edge... easy."

That's how San Francisco's BottleBank pilot project is described online. It launched with the intention to encourage consumers to recycle while getting their CRV credits back or California Redemption Value Cash Deposits. But public records show only 0.8% of the city's population actually subscribed to it over the past two years.

RELATED: SF BottleBank recycling program spent $4M to return less than $220K in CRVs to consumers

And it's not cheap.

It cost $1.42 million to operate last year, and if you break down the numbers it costs the program 41 cents to hand back a nickel to a consumer.

So, is it really working?

"It's a little inconvenient, but I figure it out," said Robert Isle, a San Francisco resident who drove out of his way during work hours to make his drop offs at the Safeway on Webster St. "It's the only one available right now."

For others, it's even harder lugging all the bags out of their neighborhood on public transit. And most shoppers we spoke to over a three hour period didn't know what the program even was.

Grocery stores used to be required to take back bottles and cans and reimburse consumers their CRV credits if there was no recycling center within a mile of that store - and that applied to most in San Francisco.

MORE: San Francisco launches anticipated mobile recycling service, but not everyone is happy

But all of that changed when the city's BottleBank pilot program launched several years ago.

"The moment this pilot became operational in 2021, it served to excuse 400 retail stores from taking CRV containers back in store and from refunding deposits," said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog.

Instead, four BottleBank trucks rotate between roughly 21 locations across the city - for somewhere between two to four hours, depending on the location.

And, when we went searching, it was hard to find any of them open.

We asked the city and CalRecycle about this, and they referred us to this website. The proof was right there on the screen -- most of the locations on Mondays don't offer dropoffs or were closed. The rest of the week only a handful are open, mainly during work hours. And it was even worse on weekends, when the only location open is Saturday morning. But when we checked last weekend, it was closed.

San Francisco resident Brian Martin was shocked.

MORE: Testing SF's new BottleBank mobile recycling service reveals delayed payments, location scarcity

"There's really no place you can take them to get them redeemed," he said.

Here's how it is supposed to work. Consumers sign up for a BottleBank account and use blue bags with QR codes to return their recyclables to the trucks. The containers are counted and staff credit the CRV back to the consumer's account.

"Right now we have 32 currently," said BottleBank volunteer Idalia Gutierrez on Tuesday.

"Is that pretty standard for this location?," 7 On Your Sides Stephanie Sierra asked.

"Yeah... it isn't that busy... it varies, 30 or less."

According to documents obtained by Consumer Watchdog and 7 On Your Side Investigates, the San Francisco Environment Department, which oversees the BottleBank program, budgeted $1.42 million last year. And the money projected for this year, roughly $841,520, has nearly run out.

MORE: SF BottleBank reports low collection numbers as advocates say it favors grocers, not consumers

"That tells me they're not spending their money very wisely," said Court. "It doesn't make sense to me."

Court sent a letter to Mayor Breed and CalReycle's Director Zoe Heller raising concern about this. He says he has yet to hear from them.

According to state data, California's redemption rate of containers hovers around 58% from last July to this July. In San Francisco County, that figure is under 40%.

For context in Oregon, plastic bottles and containers are redeemable during all store hours seven days a week. It is a similar story in Michigan.

So, is this pilot going to last?

7 On Your Side Investigates reached out to Mayor Breed's office for further comment, but have yet to hear back.

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