See Campaign History for the stories behind many of these changes.
| Original Law | Chapter 146, 1983 | 1998 Amendment | 2009 Amendment | Current Law | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | New York State Returnable Container Law | ||||
| Purpose | Reduce litter, ease burden on solid waste facilities and encourage recycling activity | ||||
| Enacted | 6/15/1982 | 5/27/1983 | 4/7/2009 | ||
| Implemented | 7/1/1983 | 12/1/1998 | Delayed from original date of 6/1/2009 to 8/13/09 and 10/22/09 | ||
| Beverages Covered | Beer, malt, carbonated soft drinks & mineral water, wine coolers | Adds bottled water (effective Oct. 22, 2009) | Beer, malt, carbonated soft drinks, water, wine coolers | ||
| Containers Covered | airtight metal, glass, paper, plastic, or combination of the above, under 1 gallon | airtight metal, glass, paper, plastic, or combination of the above, under 1 gallon | |||
| Amount of Deposit | 5¢ | 5¢ | |||
| Redemption Rate | (beer 77.4%) (soft drink 61.6%); (overall 70.2%) [i] | Overall: 67.8% Beer: 76.5% Soda: 58.7% Wine: 77.1%j |
Overall: 66.8% Beer: 75.2% Soda: 56.8% Wine: 64.7% k |
||
| Reclamation System | Retail stores and redemption centers | Retail stores and redemption centers | |||
| Unredeemed Deposits | Retained by distributor/ bottlers | 80% to the state General Fund; 20% retained by distributor | Retained by distributor/ bottlers | ||
| Handling Fee | 20% of refund value: 1¢ | Changed to 1.5¢ | Changed to 2¢ | 3.5¢ | 3.5¢ |
| View Legislation | Law through June 1, 2009 | Senate Bill 59 | Current Law | ||
| Notes | Requires reporting of containers sold and redeemed by bottlers and distributors | ||||
Footnotes[i] New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Beverage Container Deposit & Redemption Statistics (October 1, 2001 to September 30, 2002). j] Source: New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Beverage Container Deposit and Redemption Statistics. September 2006. [k] Source: New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Beverage Container Deposit and Redemption Statistics (October 1, 2006 - September 30, 2007). http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/0607rcarpt.pdf |
|||||