Original Law Chapter 146, 1983 1998 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    
Implemented 7/1/1983   12/1/1998  
Beverages Covered       Beer, malt, carbonated soft drinks & mineral water, wine coolers
Containers Covered       airtight metal, glass, paper, plastic, or combination of the above, under 1 gallon
Amount of Deposit      
Redemption Rate       (beer 77.4%) (soft drink 61.6%); (overall 70.2%) [j]
Reclamation System       Retail stores and redemption centers
Unredeemed Deposits       Retained by distributor/ bottlers
Handling Fee 20% of refund value: 1¢ Changed to 1.5¢ Changed to 2¢
Notes       Requires reporting of containers sold and redeemed by bottlers and distributors

Footnotes

[j] New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Beverage Container Deposit & Redemption Statistics (October 1, 2001 to September 30, 2002).