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We agree that New York\u2019s deposit system can \u2013 and should \u2013\nbe more efficient and effective for producers, retailers, business owners and\nresidents. But a new tax that doubles the deposit paid by consumers and raises\nprices on hundreds of new beverage items currently not covered by a deposit fee\nwill not encourage more people to recycle.

\n\n

The beverage company I work for recognizes its\nresponsibility to get back more of our 100% recyclable beverage bottles and\ncans so they can be remade into new ones.

\n\n

We need to invest in innovative ways to make recycling more\nwidely available at home, at businesses and in public spaces so that all\nrecyclable materials \u2013 glass, plastic, cardboard, aluminum, paper \u2013 are\ncollected and remade into new products.

\n\n

However,\nbills before the legislature, budget bill S.2008B and S.237, propose to\nexpand on an outdated and inefficient system. They would require consumers to pay a 10-cent deposit on\nevery beverage container, which would raise the price of a 12-pack of beverages\nby $1.20 at a time when families are feeling squeezed by high prices due to\ninflation. Families who use their curbside recycling won\u2019t get their money\nback. People who want their deposits back will have a much bigger load to haul\nto a redemption center.

\n\n

This makes it harder to\nrecycle and tougher on family budgets.

\n\n

This will also hurt our small businesses at a time when they need\nburdens lifted to keep their doors open and protect their employees\u2019 jobs. Fraud\nis already a major problem in our current system and enforcement is lacking. Truckloads\nof beverage containers come into our state for sale and redemption where no\ndeposit was ever collected. Doubling the deposit would worsen this issue and\nadd to the amount of empty containers that flow in from non-deposit neighbors. In\naddition, the increased handling fee of 71% \u2013 the highest in the nation \u2013 to be\npaid by distributors will not solve the problem of low recycling rates. It will\njust add to the growing cost of running a business in New York.

\n\n

Beverage companies want better recycling, which is why we support\na modern recycling system where the producers of packaging and paper fund and\nrun the system at no cost to taxpayers. Establishing a Producer Responsibility\nOrganization would be a step in the right direction toward a modern deposit\nsystem that improves collection rates in a sustainable and fiscally responsible\nmanner.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's included in Governor Cuomo's proposed budget?

Gov. Cuomo\u2019s proposed 2019-2020 budget includes an expansion of the bottle bill law to include non-alcoholic beverages such as juices, teas and sports drinks. The original bottle bill was enacted more than 35 years ago and requires stores to charge customers an extra 5 cents on beverage containers.

Do forced deposits work better than curbside recycling?

In short \u2013 no. Bottle bills, also known as forced deposits, were enacted before the widespread use of curbside recycling. Today, consumers pay for recycling services at home, and those who continue to recycle at home for the convenience will end up paying an additional tax on their containers.

Expanding the bottle bill will have almost no impact on recycling rates. It will simply shift recyclable material from curbside programs to the forced deposit program. And in addition to resulting in higher costs for consumers, it would add more than $50 million to the net operating costs of New York redemption centers, retailers and distributors.

Aren\u2019t forced deposits good for the environment?

The environmental benefit of expanding the bottle bill will be very minimal because most of these containers are already being recycled at home. Curbside recycling is much more convenient and cost-effective. Expanding the forced deposit program would not improve recycling rates, it would just be an extra burden on New York residents.

Comprehensive curbside recycling programs target 30% to 40% of the residential waste stream, while a forced deposit system targets only 3% to 4%. Rather than promoting a system that competes with curbside recycling, we should be adopting the latest best practices for our local recycling programs and investing in initiatives that enable people to reduce waste and recycle even more material at home.

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Who We Are

New Yorkers for Affordable Recycling is a group of concerned citizens, businesses and community organizations actively opposing bottle bill expansion.

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or a prominent notice on our Site, prior to the change becoming effective.

This policy was last modified on March 22, 2023.

Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact our web developer or privacy point of contact via info@nyaffordablerecycling.com.

Click here for more information on the website provider's privacy policy.

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News

Editorial: Don't rush on bottle bill expansion
Daily Gazette | March 26, 2019
On the surface, it seems like expanding the state\u2019s 37-year-old bottle bill is a long-overdue solution to the problem of pollution fouling our environment. But expanding the program is much more complicated than just adding a 5-cent deposit to more types of bottles and cans. Most importantly, it could have a significant impact on municipal recycling programs, which rely on revenue generated in global markets by the recycling of certain plastics to stay viable.

Wrong Way to Reform the New York State Bottle Bill
NRDC | March 26, 2019
But the new Bottle Bill proposal\u2014being hurriedly considered in the state\u2019s budget process\u2014would ironically weaken curbside recycling operations from Buffalo to Montauk. The troubling new bill would expand the deposit system to a wide range of other non-alcoholic beverages including sports drinks, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas.

New York's budget: 10 ways it could impact you and your family
Democrat and Chronicle | March 22, 2019
First introduced last year, Cuomo wants to ban most single-use plastic carryout bags and expand the 5-cent redemption on most non-alcoholic drink containers. The state's Bottle Bill would be expanded to sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit and vegetable beverages and ready-to-drink teas and coffee. But counties have raised concerns about the bill, saying the cost of taking in so many more bottles would strain the resources at their recycling centers.

Bill would expand types of bottle, can returns in New York
WHAM | March 21, 2019
For those of us who return our empty cans and bottles to get refunds, there could soon be more types of bottles allowed for return in New York. Under current New York state law, people can only return bottles of soda, beer or water at return centers.

New York\u2019s proposed bottle bill may actually hurt recycling
The Economist | March 21, 2019
Most municipal recycling programmes work because the costs of collecting and sorting recyclables are largely offset by the value of these materials on commodity markets. But China, once the leading buyer of America\u2019s recyclables, upended these markets last year by banning most waste imports.

NYS Association of Counties urges review of Gov. Cuomo's proposed \u2018bottle bill\u2019 expansion
North Country Now | March 20, 2019
Counties across the state are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers to make modifications to the proposed expansion of the Returnable Container Act (\"Bottle Bill\"), which would add a deposit to sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit and vegetable beverages, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas. The NYS Association of Counties (NYSAC) is urging the governor and state Legislature to modify the expansion to include only glass containers. NYSAC claims that while this proposal is well-intentioned, it harms recycling programs that are already being threatened by global recycling market volatility.

A better bottle bill? Not for counties, officials say
Oswego County News | March 15, 2019
At the start of this year\u2019s state legislature, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an expansion to the current state Bottle Bill that would allow a larger catalog of plastic containers to qualify for five-cent redemption, but county officials and solid waste experts are saying the expansion of the bill at the state level could cut into counties\u2019 revenue streams.

Charging a deposit on more beverages sold in New York state could cost distributors
BizJournals | March 12, 2019
Bottlers, including Fitzgerald Bros. Beverages Inc. in Glens Falls, are concerned about the potential financial impacts of the governor's proposal to expand the so-called \"bottle bill\" to include more types of beverages.

Rethinking the Bottle Bill in the Context of Universal Curbside Recycling
Waste360 | March 8, 2019
New York State (NYS) is currently contemplating a further expansion to its bottle bill. The details of the proposed expansion are presently unknown, except for what was included in a recent press release from the governor\u2019s office. The governor\u2019s press release indicates that the expansion will include adding noncarbonated beverages, such as teas, fruit and sports drinks, to the state\u2019s deposit system. These are beverages bottled typically in aluminum, PET, HDPE and, to a much lesser degree, glass bottles. Combined with the changes that were made to the NYS bottle bill in 2010, as part of the then Bigger Better Bottle legislation, which added water bottles to the deposit system, this proposed change, if instituted, will further erode the economic viability of curbside recycling. Additional carbonated and noncarbonated beverages packaged in glass\u2014such as beer and wine\u2014have not been targeted as part of this current proposal.

County leaders asking lawmakers to revise Gov\u2019s \u201cBottle Bill\u201d
Legislative Gazette | March 5, 2019
County executives and municipal recycling managers are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to make modifications to the proposed expansion of the Returnable Container Act, otherwise known as the \u201cbottle bill,\u201d which would add a deposit to sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit and vegetable beverages, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas. The New York State Association of Counties acknowledges that the bill is well-intentioned, but they fear it will harm recycling programs that are already being threatened by volatility in the recycling market. For example, In 2017 and 2018, China implemented policy changes that resulted in a 90 reduction in the value of paper and a 63 percent loss in value of the traditional recycling stream.

Expanding recycling law hurts food retailers
Watertown Daily Times | March 5, 2019
While New York\u2019s retail food industry appreciates the laudable intent to increase consumer recycling of bottles, Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s proposal to expand current law to include juice, tea, energy and sports drinks \u2014 among others \u2014 will have a significant impact on consumers and retailers. \u2026 While New York\u2019s bottle deposit law is already duplicative. And at the expense of curbside recycling efforts, this proposed expansion will impose labor costs on the retail food industry at an unsustainable rate.

MRF operators come out in force against New York bottle bill expansion
Waste Dive | March 1, 2019
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed expansion of the state's bottle bill to include non-alcoholic, uncarbonated drinks has run into well-coordinated opposition from the recycling industry and county officials. Following the release of a flyer deeming it a \"threat to recycling\" in February, opponents hit the capitol in Albany with concerted lobbying this past week.

County officials: Deposit law expansion would bite into waste revenue
Press-Republican | February 26, 2019
New York's county governments have concluded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to expand mandatory deposits on beverage containers would hit municipal recycling programs with an \"undue burden\" because it would sharply lower the financial value of the waste stream they handle. Cuomo has signaled he wants further study on widening the existing \"bottle bill\" to cover bottles for liquor and wine.

Turning lemons into lemonade: Recycle or Return
Newsday | February 19, 2019
A behind-the-scenes battle is brewing over Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo\u2019s proposal to expand the state\u2019s bottle bill beyond water, soda and beer containers. But companies that operate curbside recycling programs and facilities that take and process those recyclables say losing all those other containers to the bottle bill would be a financial hit for them and the municipalities that hire them, especially the plastic bottles that still have some value and can be sold despite the current worldwide recycling crisis.

Bottle Bill Expansion And Plastic Bag Ban To Be Included In 2019 State Executive Budget
Lansing Star | January 18, 2019
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced this week a bottle bill expansion and a plastic bag ban will be included in the 2019 Executive Budget.

NY Gov Proposes Plastic Bag Ban And Bottle Bill Expansion
WAMC Northeast Public Radio | January 14, 2019
A spokesman for the American Beverage Association says, in part, \u201cAmerica\u2019s beverage companies are working together to protect the environment and we look forward to continuing to work with Gov. Cuomo and his administration to improve access to recycling, expand litter recovery efforts and reduce the amount of plastic in our containers.\u201d

Governor to include plastic bag ban and bottle bill expansion in budget
Inform NY | January 14, 2019
Governor Cuomo announced on Sunday he will be including a bottle bill expansion and a plastic bag ban in the 2019 Executive Budget.

N.Y. Gov.: Say goodbye to plastic bags
WHAM | January 14, 2019
On Sunday, Cuomo also announced that he will pursue expanding the state's bottle bill to make most non-alcoholic drink containers eligible for 5 cent redemption.