Brooklyn liquor store owners push against Bottle Bill expansion

NEW YORK — The Bottle Bill expansion aims to add different kinds of containers like wine and liquor bottles to the list of vessels redeemable across the state. It also aims to increase the 5-cent deposit, established decades ago, to encourage consumers to recycle.

However, it also faces pushback from independent liquor store owners like Michael Correra of Michael Towne Wines & Spirits in Downtown Brooklyn.

“We just don’t have the space and have the area. We don’t need extra rats. We don’t need bugs,” he said.

Correra is also the executive director of the Metropolitan Package Store Association, which represents 3,500 liquor stores in New York.

“Last thing we need is to push people out of business. And I think this is something that could really put stores over the edge,” Correa said.

He said independent liquor stores like his would have to dedicate large amounts of space to essentially become redemption centers.

“If you sell a thousand bottles a week and you have to take a thousand bottles back, it means you have to be able to store double what you store,” Correra explained.

Bottle Bill still has many supporters

On the other hand, recycling activists like Ryan Castelia support the legislation, saying the bill would promote recycling and improve the quality of life for canners, people who collect recyclable containers to make a living.

“That deposit hasn’t changed in over 40 years, which means that incentive is diminished, meaning casual consumers no longer really participate in the Bottle Bill system. They don’t have the financial incentive to do so,” Castelia, executive director of a recycling redemption nonprofit called Sure We Can, said.

Castelia also said he understands the concerns of these small businesses, and hopes the bill will encourage recyclers to use dedicated facilities like the ones at Sure We Can.

“We’ve been advocating for this bill for a couple of years, which, unfortunately, didn’t pass this past session, which is a bitter thing, because not only does it increase the deposit in other container hours, it also increases the handling fee at independent redemption centers like ours,” he said.

This year’s legislative session ended with the Senate and Assembly versions of the bill still in committee, with no word on whether they will move forward when lawmakers are back in Albany.

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