Malibu’s last self-service recycling center has closed. Without advance warning, the can and bottle self-service recycling machines in front of Ralphs grocery store on Malibu Road are now shut down and will be removed shortly. This was reportedly the last location in Malibu where aluminum cans and plastic and glass bottles could be redeemed for the CRV (California Refund Value) tax that is paid upon purchase of beverages.
The machines were not only regularly used by Malibu residents to discard recyclables and to recoup the CRV, but also used frequently by the area’s growing homeless population in order to redeem a little cash.
No other grocery store in Malibu has recycling machines. Pavilions stores in Malibu and Pacific Palisades say they will accept presorted bottles and cans in their stores between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Ralphs in Calabasas will also accept presorted material.