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) | Carbonated Soft Drinks, Soda Water, Beer and Other Malt Beverages, Wine Products and Water which does not contain sugar (including flavored or nutritionally enhanced water) | ||
| Containers Covered | airtight metal, glass, paper, plastic, or combination of the above, under 1 gallon | 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¢ | 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 |
2015 Overall (December 1, 2014 through November 30, 2015):65%j | ||
| 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 | 80% to the state General Fund; 20% retained by distributor | ||
| 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[j] Source: New York Department of Environmental Conservation E-mail Communication with Jennifer Kruman (1/26/15) |
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