Current Bottle Bill |
Bigger Better Bottle Bill |
Impact of Proposed Changes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beverages Covered | Carbonated soft drinks, sparkling water, beer & malt beverages, and wine coolers | All beverages covered under current law, plus non-carbonated beverages. Includes exemptions for: milk and dairy products; infant formula; wine and liquor; nutritional supplements; syrups; concentrates; soups; powdered and frozen beverages | Adds non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water, iced tea, and sports drinks to the deposit law. This would result in nearly 3 billion* additional bottles and cans returned and recycled each year, resulting in cleaner communities, more recycling, and savings for municipalities. | |
| Containers Covered | Glass, metal, or plastic bottles and cans, up to one gallon or 3.8 liters in size | Glass, metal, or plastic bottles and cans, under one gallon or 3.8 liters in size | Removes gallon-sized containers from deposit law | |
| Deposit | Minimum 5-cent refundable deposit on all eligible beverage containers | No change | None | |
| Unclaimed Deposits | The law is silent on this issue. Beverage distributors and bottlers have kept more than $1.5 billion** in unclaimed deposits since the law began. | Requires deposit initiators to transfer unclaimed deposits to the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). | Assuming a 70% redemption rate, estimates range from $100 million to more than $190 million a year* in new funding for open space, parks, farmland protection, river clean-ups, recycling, waste prevention, and other environmental programs. New York would be following the lead of other states that take back unclaimed deposits (Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, California, Hawaii). | |
| Handling Fee | Deposit initiator (e.g. bottler or distributor) pays retailer or redemption center a 2 cent handling fee for every container they redeem | Increases handling fee from 2 cents to 3.5 cents. | Increases the compensation to stores and redemption centers by 75%. The increased handling fee would also be a financial incentive for creation of more redemption centers, which would ease the burden on retailers. | |
| Retailer Requirements | Stores must accept up to 240 empty containers per person/per day of any beverage that they sell, and refund the deposit to the redeemer. Stores may refuse to accept broken, dirty, or corroded bottles or cans, or those that are not labeled with a NYS refund value. |
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Reduces the number of bottles and cans that retailers in New York City must redeem if there is a redemption center nearby. This provides a powerful incentive for NYC retailers to assist in the establishment of new redemption centers. Lowers the takeback requirements for bodegas and other small stores. Allows all other retailers in NYC to accommodate high-volume returns during the window of time that is most convenient for them. | |
| Incentives for Redemption Centers | The container handling fee required under the existing law has had the unanticipated effect of spurring new businesses and charities across the state that redeem empty containers, but do not sell beverages. Many stores have registered as redemption centers in order to take back containers of products they do not sell. | Increases the handling fee from 2 cents to 3.5 cents. Expands the law to include more containers. Makes non-profit and municipally-run redemption centers eligible for state assistance payments through the EPF. Makes for-profit redemption centers eligible for financial and technical assistance through the New York State Waste Prevention Program. Provides an incentive for retailers in New York City to assist with the creation or expansion of redemption centers (see “retailer requirements,” above). | All of these changes, in particular the increased handling fee, will help redemption centers grow and expand in New York State. This would encourage small business development, create more jobs, and ease the burden on retailers, while expanding consumers’ options for redeeming empty beverage containers. |
* In 2007, the Department of Budget projected that the unclaimed deposits would total $100 million a year, based on annual redemption statistics reported to the N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Container Recycling Institute estimates actual unclaimed deposits could range from $190 to $222 million annually, based on both DEC redemption statistics and beverage marketing data.
** According to the DECís redemption statistics from 2003-2004; the actual numbers are likely much higher