Blog
We Asked, You Answered: Our Community Responds to Survey on a Potential New Bottle Bill in Washington State
Washington State could become the eleventh state in the nation to enact a ‘bottle bill’ by including a small deposit on bottles and cans to incentivize their return for recycling and reuse. We polled more than 130 members of the Story of Stuff Community to get their take and see what’s important to them. The…
Story of Stuff Community Update: October 2022
Over the last quarter, we’ve notched some big wins, shared incredible stories and ensured our grassroots partners have the support they need to thrive. Storytelling: Honoring Native Voices on Indigenous Peoples’ Day Story of Stuff celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day with two big storytelling content drops: a new animated video in The World We Need series…
Walmart Tops Major California Grocers Ducking Obligation to Redeem Beverage Deposits
The Bottle Bill’s Dismal Performance Highlighted as Legislature Considers Inclusion of Wine and Spirits Containers CALIFORNIA – New research reveals that California’s largest retailers are flagrantly violating their legal responsibility to return deposits on bottles and cans to consumers under the state’s bottle bill. A survey of 500 outlets of the state’s top ten grocers carried…
Meeting Your Reps: Fixing California’s Broken Bottle Bill
The state bottle bill establishes a deposit return system that, when functioning properly, can slash plastic pollution and increase recycling rates by placing a refundable deposit on bottles and cans. Here’s the thing though: California’s isn’t working. It’s a plastic problem that should be a simple fix, but instead, it’s failing people and the planet.…
CalRecycle Pledges $330 Million Towards Improving California Bottle Bill
Investment in improved return infrastructure is welcome but must include enhanced oversight of retailers’ compliance with their takeback responsibilities The California agency CalRecycle has announced a new budget proposal committing nearly half of the $600 million surplus it currently holds from unredeemed bottle and can deposits to improving the recycling rate of the 26 billion…
Water Board Site Visit
FEBRUARY 2022 SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA Photo Essay by Michael O’Heaney. Special thanks to Hugh Bialecki for capturing some of these images. John Muir said that “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” After reams of paper evidence, hours of testimony over Zoom, and dozens…
Our New Report Reveals Gaping Holes in California’s Bottle Bill: Accelerating The State’s Plastic & Carbon Emissions
Today the Story of Stuff Project released a new report California’s Bottle Bill: The Path to Redemption, revealing a system failing Californians and the environment. A landmark environmental law, the state bottle bill has diverted billions of bottles from landfills, incinerators and the environment, but now finds itself languishing in serious decline. The report shares…
Your Recycling Mission
Thank you for helping to investigate California’s collapsing recycling system for bottles and cans! A successful deposit return system is built on a network of convenient return options. Many of the statewide retailers are required by law to redeem bottles and cans, but anecdotal evidence suggests this is not happening. Can you help us get…
OPEN CALL FOR GRASSROOTS GRANTS PROGRAM
Today, we’re doing something different for a nonprofit: we’re doing the giving. This Giving Tuesday, we’re inviting you to apply to our Grassroots Grants Program! We established the Grassroots Grants Program in 2017 to support small organizations and groups organizing against water privatization and plastic pollution. Since we launched, we have supported 70 grassroots groups…
