I went to my parking lot recycling spot (awesome site, btw, 2004 & 2005 “News” articles) on Saturday to cash in some bottles and cans that had been piling up (why give that money to the County, right?) only to find out that their hours had been dramatically cut recently. Why? It’s good for the bottle, right? It’s good for the can, right? It’s what Oprah wants us to do!

As it turns out, what do you know …

The state has tapped the California Redemption Value fund for $417.7 million in loans to help deal with its budget crisis. Consumers pay about $1.2 billion a year in 5- and 10-cent deposits on most soda, sports drinks, juice, beer and water bottles and cans sold in California.

The parking-lot recycling business operates as a for profit enterprise helping to make it easier for folks to return their recyclables for cash. You know, creating jobs, providing a service to the community. Yawn…

From the Bee…

And, by law, supermarkets not served by parking-lot recyclers are supposed to either pay the state $100 a day – only one store is doing so – or redeem the containers themselves, but many do not.

What a joke. Luckily, a short term fix has been announced:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is throwing a financial lifeline to California’s troubled recycling program for cans and bottles that should keep it alive for at least several months, even though the long-term prognosis remains uncertain.

Let me get this straight. You cut the hours of these places or you shut them down completely. You make it increasingly difficult to get your nickel or dime back. All the while, folks continue to purchase the beverages and pay the CRV. The money keeps rolling in. Man, that’s some value.

Bernie Madoff would be so proud.