Earth Day report: New York's Bigger, better bottle bill

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — A study released at an Earth Day press conference showed that updating New York’s 40‑year‑old "bottle bill" could save local governments up to $109 million a year. Lawmakers and advocates unveiled the report at the State Capitol and pushed for passage of S5684/A6543.

Bottle bill backers say state landfills will be full within about 20 years. By adding more drink types and raising deposits, the study found that New York could reroute billions of bottles destined for landfills to recyclers.

Taking effect in 1983, the current bottle bill makes customers pay a $0.05 deposit on soda, beer, and a handful of other drink containers. They get the deposit back when they return the empties.

Under the proposed reform, the drink types covered would be expanded, the deposit would increase to $0.10 by 2027, and new rules and targets for reusing and recycling would take shape to cut litter and make landfills last longer. It would require distributors to report recycling rates by April 1, 2026, and hit target recycling rates of 70% by 2027, 80% by 2029, and 90% by 2031. By April 1, 2031, at least 25% of containers sold must be refillable under a “return and reuse” system within 200 miles of where they were manufactured.

The measure would broaden “beverage” to mean almost any drinkable liquid sold in a container. That means almost anything you can drink—except regulated medicine, infant formula, meal-replacement drinks, milk, plant-based milk, and 100% fruit or vegetable juice—would be added to the list. That new definition—including noncarbonated soft drinks, sweetened teas and coffees, and carbonated fruit drinks—would take effect on April 1, 2030.

Projected statewide savings range from $39.5 million to $108.6 million annually, adding up to over a billion over the next decade. The study estimated a range of likely reductions in trash collection costs at six locations in New York:

Municipality	Low savings	High savings
New York City	$34,100,000	$80,000,000
Clarkstown	$60,000	$200,000
Riverhead	$30,000	$100,000
Troy	$40,000	$60,000
Syracuse	$90,000	$190,000
Buffalo	$200,000	$250,000
Totals	$34,520,000	$80,800,000

The bill tightens rules for stores and redemption centers, too. Any store that sells beverages with deposits would have to accept empties, even if they weren't bought there. They'd also have to pay out the deposit refund in cash.

If a reverse vending machine prints a receipt or voucher, it has to be redeemable for real money, not store credit, and the store has to post how long the voucher is good for. If not, they'd have to honor it regardless of the date. Nor can stores also limit hours beyond the first and last hour they’re open.

But stores can limit redemptions to 72 containers per person per day if they have a written agreement with a nearby redemption center. Large chains have to install a minimum number of reverse vending machines based on size. Smaller businesses that don’t use machines would need a clearly marked and staffed area for people to return bottles.

Handling fees that distributors pay dealers would also increase from $0.035 to $0.05 if the bill gets signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Then those fees would rise to $0.06 in 2027 and $0.065 in 2032. Distributors would have to pick up empties on a timetable set by regulators, supply free bags or cartons, and can’t make store staff load their trucks.

Democratic Syracuse State Senator Rachel May sponsored the reform bill and highlighted the environmental upside:

Will higher deposits hurt low-income buyers? State Senator Pat Fahy doesn't think so. "I believe consumers will be more conscious of returning those bottles," she said.

Joining May and Fahy for the press conference was State Senator Pete Harckham, whose packaging waste bill was repeatedly pitched as a companion to the bottle bill. Advocates who backed a new bottle bill at the press conference included Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, Erica Smikta of the League of Women Voters of New York, Kurt Krumperman of Zero Waste Capital District, Liz Moran of Earthjustice, and representatives from the Climate Reality Project and the Nature Conservancy. Assemblymember Deborah Glick sponsored the new bill in the Assembly.

Take a look at the report below: