“I wasn’t really interested in doing a business that only had relevance in San Diego,” said BottleHood co-owner Steve Cherry during a recent visit to his production facility in El Cajon, CA. And when I say “facility” I really mean a small storage and processing building at the end of a tight winding hilly tangerine-lined drive, a few work stations covered by tents, and a hillside of sorted boxes with empty used bottles awaiting their transformation from trash to useful product. If the facility sounds small, that’s because it is. That’s not only the key to its charm, but it’s also its secret weapon.

“This is a business that is very very scalable, meaning one location can get very big for very little money. And it’s also easily replicable, meaning you can easily start another one in another neighborhood,” Steve adds. “Southern California is hardly a sustainability leader [but] if we can make a success of BottleHood in San Diego, then there are probably twenty other cities in the U.S. where we can be even more successful.”

Steve’s new business venture, BottleHood, collects discarded bottles from various sources and cuts them into juice glasses, tumblers, vases, candle holders, and more. In August 2009 Steve was fed up with what he was doing and tells me half-heartedly that he had considered opening a taco stand in Costa Rica. With co-owner Leslie Tiano they decided to create an enterprise that could support the local economy, create local jobs, stop jobs from moving offshore, and keep valuable glass out of the landfill.

Just eleven U.S. states have container deposit laws, what are usually referred to as bottle bills. In most cases, the state charges beverage distributors a fee on certain types of containers. That fee is passed on to retailers and is ultimately paid by consumers. That fee can be recovered when consumers return used containers to recycling centers. In those states with bottle bills, recycling rates for glass, aluminum, and plastic are more than twice the national average. In fact, the eleven states with such programs recycle as much total volume as the other thirty-nine sates combined. In 1986, California passed the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act – that’s legislature-speak for bottle bill. Just ten years after the bill was enacted, beer and soda bottle recycling rates rose to 80%.

There is, however, one side effect of such legislation that’s often overlooked and rarely discussed. Any law that increases the value of some containers can, and often does, reduce the value of others. For example, in California, glass soft drink, energy drink, beer, and water containers qualify for the program. They have redemptive value (CRV). Wine and liquor bottles do not qualify for the program; their recycling rates are significantly lower, and they have limited value. The program incentivizes the collection and return of some containers and creates disincentive for others. The next time you’re in a bar, restaurant, or nightclub, glance at the shelves of bottles behind the bar and you’ll see an incredible collection of beautifully designed objects. Expand your view just a little and you’ll find a treasure trove of small soda bottles and micro brewed beer with stunning silk screened labels.

Read more on tour: BottleHood