California Leads in Recycling

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Californians recycled more than 6.9 billion beverage containers in the first half of 2007, up nearly 800 million from the same period a year ago, the state's largest recycling-rate increase in the last 15 years, according to a recent study released by the state's Department of Conservation. And officials think they know why. Ref. LA Times

In January, the state increased the California Refund Value to a nickel for small beverage containers and a dime for large ones. The respective one- and two-cent hikes, they believe, may have changed a lot of perceptions.

"If you see four pennies on the ground and you're walking on the street, are you going to bother to pick them up?" asked Mark Murray, executive director for Californians Against Waste, a statewide environmental organization that focuses on recycling. "Whereas you see a nickel or dime on the ground, you're likely to pick that up. The same thing goes to just seeing that value in a can and thinking, 'I'm tossing a nickel in the trash.' "

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