Time To Terminate The CRV

Editor:
First, relax Honda owners. I am talking about the California Recycling Value fee.
Since many Forum readers may not have experience with the onset of the what morphed into the crv fee, I’d like to take a few lines to give my recall of the process that was available in the late 1960s to the present. If some feel that they disagree with my recall of the history, then I am very open to accept their corrections.

In the late 1960s there existed a food market called the COOP which was at the present site of the CVS pharmacy in Castro Valley. The store promoted recycling by providing a huge container for anyone to put clean metal containers into the bin, The bin was outside and was available for drop offs from anyone - member or not a member. I believe they also had a second huge container for newspaper and cardboard collection.
Newspaper collections were also done by church groups, and boy scouts. So recycling was not as “refined” as we have it today. Then a law was passed that, in essence and at its onset, the State of California would charge a fee (aka deposit) whereby a consumer would be able to collect his/her fee charge by returning the empties to a collection site. The law stated that if a collection site was not within a few miles of the store, then the store would have to accept the returns for redemption.

I remember visiting the Costco “A” Street store and seeing a massive pile of containers and a lot of disgruntle workers with – of course – their plastic gloves on! Someone then realized it was not a very sanitary activity to have filthy containers next to food items, and hence the creation of elaborate recycling kiosk-type stations outside of the store.

You are probably wondering “what’s your point”? Well look at recycling today. For every item that has a crv charge you pay the fee, but do not have any reasonable way to redeem that fee. Plus you do the first recycling activity by putting the item in your blue bin. Alameda County Industries and Waste Management companies collect your crv fee plus gather along with similar items to generate a massive additional income – and at your expense. There is no reason to continue the cv fee except to be fleeced by the people that have been elected to represent you. So think about them when you vote.

Fees are generated and remain as tar babies – cannot get rid of them. So what is there to Watch Out for? Well take a look at your DMV Vehicle Registration Renewal Notice. There is a line “OWNER RESPONSIBILITY FEE $0”. (that’s zero dollars) So you may say “WTF” is this? But greater minds have a plan to NOT increase your tax, BUT to add another fee. And I thought my owner responsibility fee was my car insurance payment.
So think about them when you vote.