Tag Archives: State of California

Dec 15

State of California CalRecycle Hits CVS With $3.6 Million Enforcement Action

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CVS Refuses To Refund Bottle Deposits to Consumers Triggering Massive Fine

Snared by State Regulations

As we have seen, the collapse of California’s Recycling program has caused problems and huge losses in many sectors.  The closing of Recycling giant RePlanet and many other recycling centers like the huge Santa Monica Recycling Center was the end result of gross mismanagement by various City and State Bureaucrats.  The head of CalRecycle is said to be resigning at the end of the year.  Meanwhile, consumers struggle to find places to redeem their bottles and cans.  Stores and chains that refuse to pay back the deposits/or send a $100 per day extortion fee to the State are being fined, like the recent CVS $3.6 million.

How did we get to this point?  Certainly the Federal Government bears some responsibility.  The China trade war resulted in China stopping and/or slowing its massive buying of recycled products from the U.S.  “We don’t want your trash” they said.  Part of that problem would be the big exporters dumping too much contaminants into the loads.  Part is retaliation for U.S. trade sanctions.  A big slow-down of China purchases of scrap caused the prices to fall, putting pressure on our recycling industry.  The big losers in all this are not just RePlanet type shops, but the cunsumers have been really screwed.

The State of California, meanwhile, continues to rake in the bucks.  They make money either way.  Now that hundreds of recycling centers have closed, payouts for redeeming bottles and cans go down, but income from charging consumers 5 and 10 cents per container continues to pour in to State coffers by the millions.  A bigger profit for the greedy State.  Plus they now can collect millions more by fining the stores for not complying with the rules.  The chains and convenience stores did not see this coming, and they didn’t want to have to take back cans and bottles, it’s at times a logistical nightmare for them.

Plus, the State makes even more money by telling consumers to dump their recycled cans and bottles into the “Blue Bins” run by the cities, more money for their partners in this scam, the local cities.  This big mess calls the whole program into question.  Why should the State be involved at all?  Why not let consumers not pay ANY deposit, and just run campaigns to push them to recycle at scrap yards for market prices?  The retailers, stores and chains would be very happy with this.  The consumers would be happy not to pay the deposit.  The thieves who smuggle in millions of bottles to California scrap yards from other states would be out of business.  More scrap yards will open up to process the bottles and cans.  Low income and homeless could once again make a few bucks and get some exercise hunting for scrap.

California should shut down this program.  They can do better by just being cheerleaders for recycling and helping and encouraging the recycling industry to make advancements.  The bottle deposit scam should end now.

Jun 04

California Homeless Population Swells to 118,000 in 2016

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California Department of Housing’s Shocking Report

On a single night in 2016, more than 118,000 people experienced homelessness in California — 22 percent of the entire nation’s homeless population.  California also has the highest number of unaccompanied youth, veterans and chronically homeless in the United States, with nearly one-third of the nation’s youth, nearly one-fourth of the nation’s homeless veterans, and more than one-third of the nation’s chronically homeless residents.   Most of California’s homeless population resides in major metropolitan areas; however, homelessness impacts communities of all sizes and people experience homelessness throughout all regions of the state.

The availability of affordable homes is an important part of addressing California’s housing needs, but many households bear additional challenges.  For example, a person exiting homelessness may not have the credit or rental history required to rent an apartment, even if they have financial assistance, or they may need a variety of services to help them transition and stabilize.

Even with federal Housing Choice Vouchers that assist with rent, many households are still unable to find affordable homes. In many high-cost markets, the amount of rent a federal Housing Choice Vouchers will cover is capped based on the Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rent, which can fall significantly below the market rent. This, combined with too few available rentals and landlords who are unwilling to accept vouchers at all is exacerbating the problem

In addition to policy work on homelessness, HCD administers the following programs:

Following two-and-a half years of work, in 2016, HCD released a redesigned state Emergency Solutions Grant program (ESG). The updated program better aligns with the federal Homeless Emergency Assistance and Transition to Housing Act and increases coordination of state investment, federal investment, and local systems that address homelessness. HCD shared the redesigned program’s changes via roundtable meetings with regional bodies that coordinate homelessness efforts (continuums of care) and webinars. HCD prepared the 2016 ESG application and rating tool for scoring the applications. In May 2016, HCD released an ESG NOFA for approximately $20 million, and subsequently, made awards in September 2016 (FY 2016-17).

Learn more about the housing needs of people experiencing with homelessness in California’s Housing Future: Challenges and Opportunities.