The Town Board recently joined the Onondaga County Legislature and several other municipalities in its support to urge the NYS Legislature to focus expansion of the NYS Returnable Container Act (“Bottle Bill”) on glass beverage containers only and to place a fully redeemable deposit of $.25 on each bottle of wine & spirits.
Local municipal curbside recycling programs are facing exponential increases in costs due to the loss of the Chinese export market, estimated to exceed $40 million annually statewide in 2019, and $60 million in 2020. Many communities cannot support the higher costs of recycling and are struggling to maintain their programs. Enacting a $0.25 deposit on wine and liquor glass containers is a cost-effective
incentive to ensure their recovery. Larger deposit values inspire greater redemption rates. The NYS Legislature should allocate a portion of the unclaimed deposits collected to the Environmental Protection Fund to support recycling and recycling markets statewide. Deposits should be placed on other non-alcoholic glass containers, including iced coffee and teas, energy drinks, and Kamubucha, to further enhance the recovery rate and improve curbside recycling quality.