Photos by Rob Varela / Star staff Bill Sullivan of Ventura unloads his truck at D&J Recycling Service in Ventura. Recycling rates have been up statewide since refunds for bottles and cans increased, officials say.

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John Evetts has seen people throw four pennies on the ground of his recycling business as if they were trash.

A nickel though — that's a whole different story. Nobody tosses silver on the ground.

"Pennies aren't worth anything," said Evetts, co-owner of D&J; Recycling Service in Ventura. "Nickels are."

And a lot more nickels are being handed out at recycling centers these days.

Ever since the state increased the refund on bottles and cans one year ago, officials said, recycling rates are up across the state, including Ventura County.

The biggest increase came at California's recycling centers, where people bring in their trash for cash. A recent study showed a 6 percent increase in recycling rates the first six months of 2007, compared to the same time in 2006. That increase represents an additional 800 million items.

The rise is attributed to an increase in the refund value, which went from 4 cents to a nickel for bottles and cans under 24 ounces and from 8 cents to a dime for larger containers. Officials had looked at ways to increase recycling rates, and a Berkeley study said raising the refund was the best way.

"It's the kind of thing that if you see four pennies lying on the ground, you leave them there, but if you see a nickel or a dime, you are going to pick it up," said Mark Oldfield, a spokesman with the California Department of Conservation.

Jacob Earhart said he noticed the increased refund right away.

The 24-year-old lives with three others in Ventura who go through a considerable amount of beer cans and bottles every month, so Earhart collects them and takes them in for cash.

"I was surprised," he said. "It was pretty substantial." He makes about $25 each time he goes to D&J; Recycling.

Sam Merryman noticed the difference, too, but none of the money went into his pocket.

A member of the Ventura Elks Lodge noticed all the bottles that were being thrown away in 1994 and started recycling them all.

The money goes back into the coffers he said, and is used for charity and other causes.

When he recently took in 43 cases of beer bottles, he got $51.60, about $10 more than he used to get.

The recycling increase does more than just keep bottles and cans out of landfills, officials said. Products made from recycled goods require fewer fossil fuels to produce, thereby creating fewer greenhouse gases. Officials said the recent increase in recycling is the equivalent of taking 230,000 cars off the road for one year.

Oldfield said people are motivated to recycle by the financial incentive, an environmental ethic, or both.

Jennifer Andrews, a spokeswoman with Waste Management, said in Ventura County the increase is seen more at recycling centers than with curbside pickup.

Jason Steinmetz recently took an assortment of Heineken bottles to a Ventura recycling center after a New Year's party in hopes of offsetting some of his trash collection costs. He got only $4.49 for the bottles, but it helps pay his $25 monthly trash bill.

"I feel like it's throwing money away" to not cash in the bottles, he said.

Oren Zarin, a manager at Camarillo recycling, said that when people take in pounds, the extra few cents become evident.

A pound of aluminum cans that used to bring in about $1.20 now yields about $1.50.

"The price went up in January, and people notice a difference and they were happy about that," he said.

Oldfield said the state is going to continue to tout the increased rates in hopes of spurring more people to recycle.