| Name | New York State Returnable Container Act | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purpose | Reduce litter, ease burden on solid waste facilities and encourage recycling activity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enacted | 6/15/1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date Implemented | 7/1/1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regulations | New York State Environmental Conservation Law, Article 27, Title 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beverages Covered |
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| Beverages Not Covered |
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| Containers Covered | An individual, separate, sealed glass, metal, aluminum, steel or plastic bottle, can or jar less than 1 gallon or 3.78 liters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amount of Deposit | 5¢ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclamation System | Retail stores and redemption centers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handling Fee | 3.5¢ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unredeemed Deposits |
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| Redemption Rates |
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| % of All Beverages Sold That Are Covered By Deposit | 79% [3] |
Details
In New York, sold beverage containers included in the deposit program must have a deposit of 5¢. Retailers are responsible for arranging the collection and processing of empty containers, and they must pay dealers and redemption centers for the deposits, as well as 3.5¢ handling fee for each empty beverage container. Consumers may receive a refund when they redeem their containers at retailers that sell beverages for off-premise consumption. Food or beverage establishments must accept all returned containers, but are not required to provide refunds.
Additionally, deposit initiators must report quarterly on deposits collected and redeemed and remit 80% of the unredeemed deposits to the Department of Taxation and Finance. The remaining 20% of the unredeemed deposits is retained by the beverage distributors.
Footnotes
[1] "New York State Returnable Beverage Container Act Deposit and Redemption Statistics." New York Department of Environmental Conservation, E-mail Communication with Jennifer Kruman, Environmental Program Specialist; 2023 and 2024 rates also courtesy of Jennifer Kruman through e-mail communication; last date emailed May 6, 2025.
[2] New York Department of Environmental Conservation, E-mail Communication with Jennifer Kruman. August 9, 2018.
[3] "2021 Beverage Market Data Analysis." Container Recycling Institute. 2024.
Last Updated on July 22, 2025.