Redemption Centers and Dealer Requirements for NY Bottle Bill

How to Become a Redemption Center

The New York State Returnable Container Act , Article 27, Title 10, of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), defines a redemption center as: 

• any person offering to pay the refund value of an empty beverage container to a redeemer,
• or any person who contracts with one or more dealers or distributors to collect, sort and obtain the refund value and handling fee of empty beverage containers for, or on behalf of, such dealer or distributor.

Generally, redemption centers are small businesses that accept empty beverage containers for redemption from the public and pay the full refund value to the redeemer. Anyone may open a redemption center, and each redemption center may determine the type of empty beverage containers to be accepted.

The Department suggests that any person seeking to open a redemption center first consult with third-party pickup agents to ensure safe, secure, and timely service at their location. 

Key Considerations:

Redemption Center Registration

There is no cost to obtain a redemption center registration. 
 
Please allow 30 days for processing of the application. Before opening a redemption center, you need to contact the municipality where you would like to locate your redemption center to ensure compliance with any local zoning and/or business requirements. Proof of compliance with local requirements must be submitted with your application. Rented/leased facilities must submit a signed copy of the rental agreement or lease.

Complete the following forms when registering to be a Redemption Center.

*Whenever a redemption center redeems more than 2,500 beverage containers at one time, they must complete this form, keep it on file, and provide it to DEC upon request.

Please note: You are required to notify DEC in writing of any changes to the information submitted on the notification form. Changes to redemption center information require a new application. 

Dealer Requirements

A "dealer" is every person, firm or corporation who engages in the sale of beverages in beverage containers to a consumer for off-premises consumption in New York State. A retailer selling beverages in deposit containers for consumers to take away from the premises is considered a "dealer." 

Beverage Container Rejection

Dealers and redemption centers may refuse to accept the following:

• any container that does not properly indicate a refund value;
• broken bottles;
• corroded or dismembered cans; 
• beverage containers that contain a free-flowing liquid;
• beverage containers that contain a significant amount of foreign material, such as paper, sticks or cigarette butts which are foreign to the original contents of the container. 

Small amounts of dust, dirt or moisture are allowed. Although helpful, containers do not have to be rinsed.

**A dealer or redemption center must not knowingly redeem an empty beverage container on which a deposit was never paid in New York State.

 A dealer may limit the number of containers accepted to no less than 240 containers per redeemer per day. If a dealer chooses to limit the number of containers accepted, they must have a sign posted stating the limit. This sign must also state that any redeemer may make 48-hour advance arrangements to redeem an unlimited number of empty beverage containers. Stores that are not open 24-hours a day do not have to accept containers during the first and last hour of their business day.

Redemption Warning Sign

All dealers and redemption centers must post a "Redemption Warning" sign (PDF, 11kB), which states that there is a penalty for returning containers on which a deposit was never paid in New York. This sign must be at least 8" x 10", with print at least 1" in size. See Environmental Conservation Law ("ECL"), section 27-1015(4).

**The law states that a dealer or redemption center shall not knowingly redeem an empty beverage container on which a deposit was never paid in New York state.  See ECL § 27-1007(10).

If someone knowingly tries to return more than 48 empty beverage containers that did not have a deposit paid in New York State, they could face a fine. This fine can be up to $100 for each container or up to $25,000 for each group of containers returned. See ECL § 27-1015(4).

Reverse Vending Machines 

A dealer must pay the refund value in legal tender, or a scrip or receipt from a reverse vending machine (RVM), provided that the scrip or receipt can be exchanged for legal tender for a period of not less than sixty days without requiring the purchase of other goods. 
The use of RVMs does not relieve a dealer of its redemption responsibilities if the machines are broken or full.

Effective March 1, 2010, a dealer whose place of business is part of a chain engaged in the same general field of business under common ownership, which operates 10 or more stores in New York, must install and maintain a certain number of reverse vending machines based on the stores' square footage that is devoted to the display of merchandise for sale to the public. Such a dealer whose business is:

 

• 40,000 sq ft but less than 60,000 sq ft devoted to the display of merchandise for sale to the public must install at least 2 RVMs;
• 60,000 sq ft but less than 85,000 sq ft devoted to the display of merchandise for sale to the public must install at least 3 RVMs; or
• 85,000 sq ft or more devoted to the display of merchandise for sale to the public must install at least 4 RVMs.

This requirement does not apply to a store that: 

• sells only beverage containers of 20 ounces or less that are packaged in quantities fewer than 6;
• devotes no more than 5 percent of its floor space to the display and sale of consumer commodities as defined in Section 214(h) of the Agriculture and Markets Law*;
•  or obtains a waiver from the Commissioner authorizing an alternative technology. (See ECL § 27-1007 (1)(b) for further details on this waiver provision.)
   

Sign Requirements for Stores

Beverage Container Pick-up and Processing

Empty beverage containers that have been redeemed by consumers at a dealer or redemption center are collected from those entities by the deposit initiator, a distributor, or a third-party agent. The containers are then brought back to the facility where they are processed, including counting, sorting, and baling. Once containers are fully processed, they are either given back to the deposit initiator or sold into the commodity markets where they are purchased and made into new products, including, in many cases, beverage container to beverage container recycling.

Ensuring that beverage containers are redeemed not only provides the deposit paid upon purchase back to consumers, it reduces litter, keeps waste out of landfills, and has significant environmental benefits, including less reliance on raw materials and greatly reduced energy needs. From the time a consumer redeems a beverage container, that container can be back on the shelf as a new container in as little as sixty days.

Third-Party Systems Operators and Related Companies 

 (Updated: 2/11/2026)

Third-party pickup services will pick up the empty containers from distributors, dealers and redemption centers on behalf of the deposit initiators for a service fee. These third parties normally negotiate a contract based on volumes collected.