To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Joy Eldredge, Utilities Director
Prepared By: Kevin Miller, Materials Diversion Administrator
TITLE:
Title
2026/27 CalRecycle Beverage Container Recycling Grant
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution 1) authorizing the Utilities Director to submit an application to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) for a Beverage Container Recycling Grant in the amount of $275,000 and 2) authorizing the Utilities Director and specifically identified designees, to execute all grant-related documents, and 3) determining the actions authorized by this item are exempt from CEQA.
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DISCUSSION:
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) administers various grant programs that promote waste reduction, recycling and reuse for different types of waste materials that are generated in the State. These programs can provide payments to local governments for development and maintenance of various programs that help achieve goals related to the City of Napa’s Solid Waste and Materials Diversion/Recycling program.
CalRecycle recently released a competitive grant opportunity through the Beverage Container Recycling Grant Program (RBC38) for Fiscal Year 2026-27. The program provides funding to support the recovery and recycling of beverage containers subject to the State’s California Redemption Value (CRV) program, commonly referred to as the “Bottle Bill.” The City submitted an application for the Beverage Container Recycling Grant Program by the August 11, 2026 application deadline.
To complete the City’s grant application, CalRecycle requires a governing-body resolution by September 10, 2026 authorizing submission of the grant application and execution of the grant agreement, if awarded. The proposed resolution designates the Utilities Director as the City’s Signature Authority and expressly authorizes delegation of that authority to the Deputy Utilities Director or Materials Diversion Administrator, consistent with CalRecycle’s position-specific authorization requirements.
The proposed project will rehabilitate Napa's existing “Bigbelly” recycling infrastructure and expand convenient CRV collection at parks, recreation facilities, and high-use downtown locations. The City currently operates 26 Bigbelly stations, which collected 111,018 pounds of CRV material from January 2022 through June 2023, as reported to CalRecycle under the City's prior grant.
If funded, the benefits for the City and the Napa community include:
• Rehabilitate Existing City Equipment: Purchase 36 replacement solar bubbles for 18 affected stations, 20 replacement lift bins, and 16 recycling-door retrofit assemblies. The work will return the Century Oaks Park station set to service and replace documented worn components throughout the existing 26-station network.
• Add 17 Secure Recycling Stations: Install paired landfill and CRV recycling stations at seven high-use locations: six at the future park and recreation facility at 2447 Old Sonoma Road (old Harvest Middle School Site); three at Kennedy Park, including baseball field and the skate park; two at Riverfront Green Park; one at the Clinton Street public parking lot; three at the Las Flores pickleball and tennis courts; and two at Abruzzini Park.
• Improve Service and Monitoring: The new stations include fill-level monitoring and an eight-year lifecycle software package included in the equipment purchase, with no separate subscription charge during that period. City staff will use service and condition information to support efficient collection and maintenance.
• Increase Measurable CRV Recovery: If funded, the completed network will include 43 complete stations. Based on the City's verified collection history, the project is projected to collect approximately 122,405 pounds of CRV during a representative 12-month period.
• Grant-Funded Public Education: All new stations will receive durable educational wraps with standardized CRV recycling instructions and locally relevant imagery. Clear labeling will help reduce contamination and make recycling choices readily visible to residents and visitors.
• Support State and City Waste-Reduction Goals: The project advances beverage-container recovery and complements the City's disposal-reduction policies and implementation of state recycling requirements, including SB 1383.
Staff recommend Council adopt the proposed resolution to complete the City’s grant application.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The City is requesting the maximum grant award of $275,000. The $275,000 grant proposal has been developed with the following breakdown:
• $220,682 for equipment including 17 new state-of-the-art “BigBelly” stations, applicable sales tax and replacement components for the existing network of 26 such stations.
• $43,000 for personal/consultant/labor costs (including $10,000 for equipment installation and $33,000 for grant monitoring and reporting costs)
• $11,318 for education and outreach including design, production, and installation of recycling wraps and supplemental outreach.
As proposed, the City’s grant application is for a 100% grant-funded proposal with no matching funds from the City of Napa. Parks staff labor to service the new receptacles is already included in normal operations budget and does not require additional funding. If funded, the new recycling stations will have the Bigbelly monitoring system which should help reduce the need for Parks and Recreation staff to make routine checks, particularly for more remote park locations. While the total number of units will increase, the additional workload is expected to be relatively minor due to the efficiencies gained through the monitoring feature of the new paired stations.
If the grant application is successful, the program would expand the existing network of public Bigbelly recycling stations (with 17 new stations) at the end of the current City fiscal year (FY) with the true impacts beginning in City FY2027/28. It is estimated that $64,500 per year of gross materials sales revenue for all 46 stations will be realized with the solid waste and recycling fund retaining 70% of the net benefit ($45,150) since 30% of the material sales are contractually shared with NRWS.
If funded, the City will own, install, inspect, service, monitor, and maintain the grant-funded equipment. Routine service and maintenance will be incorporated into existing operations. The equipment purchase includes eight years of monitoring software; any costs or service decisions after that included period would be evaluated through a future City budget process. Grant expenditures will not be incurred until CalRecycle issues a Notice to Proceed and will be managed in accordance with the grant agreement.
CEQA:
The Utilities Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
ATCH 2 - Competitive 2026 (RBC38) CalRecycle CRV Recycling Grant Application
NOTIFICATION:
Courtesy Copy (via email) to:
Jeff Gittings, City of Napa Parks & Urban Forestry Manager
Greg Kelley, General Manager/Managing Partner, Napa Recycling & Waste Services
Tim Dewey-Mattia, Recycling & Public Education Manager, Napa Recycling & Waste Services