Consumer group slams delay in San Francisco recycling effort

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A prominent advocacy group has labeled San Francisco “the poster child” of California’s troubled bottle and can recycling program, saying not a single grocery store in the city is required to refund nickel-or-dime deposits. The group, Consumer Watchdog, called on Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement Monday to help fix the problems. In a statement, the group criticized the state’s recycling agency for allowing San Francisco grocery stores to stop giving refunds to consumers in July after it certified a “mobile recycling program” that still is not up and running.