CVS stores failed to redeem customers' cans and bottles, and the chain faces $3.6-million penalty
Seeking to pressure retailers to accept recyclable containers from consumers, the state of California has proposed a $3.6-million penalty against the CVS pharmacy chain after dozens of its stores declined to redeem cans and bottles.
An investigation by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery found that 81 of CVS Pharmacy’s more than 800 locations in California failed to collect empty cans and bottles and to pay the 5-cent and 10-cent redemption fees due to consumers. The stores also did not pay the $100-a-day fee required of retailers that don’t offer redemption, the agency known as CalRecycle announced Monday.
The penalty is by far the largest ever proposed by the state agency and comes as California is struggling to provide enough recycling centers to serve residents, following the shrinking of foreign markets for recyclables and the August closure of the state’s biggest recycling redemption operator.
The action against CVS “sends a message that we will hold retailers accountable for refunding consumers their nickel and dime recycling deposits,” said Jared Blumenfeld, state secretary of environmental protection.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-09/cvs-fails-redeem-cans-bottles
