SAN JOSE, Calif. — California's largest operator of recycling redemption centers has shut down and laid off 750 employees.
The Mercury News reports Monday that the company RePlanet has closed all 284 of its centers.
RePlanet's president David Lawrence says the company stopped operating because of increased business costs and falling prices of recycled aluminum and PET plastic.
Now San Francisco Bay Area residents are left with few options for redeeming their recyclables.
The move comes three years after RePlanet closed 191 of its recycling centers and laid off almost 300 employees.
Advocates are urging the state to reform how it subsidizes recycling centers. They worry that now more recyclables will end up in landfills.