N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6, § 367.5 – Redemption of empty beverage containers.

(a) Except as provided in section 367.7 of this Part:
1. (1) A dealer must:
  1. (i) accept, at his place of business and from any redeemer, any empty beverage containers of the type sold by the dealer regardless of whether or not the filled beverage container was originally sold by the dealer; and
  2. (ii) pay to the redeemer the refund value of each such beverage container.
2. (2) For purposes of this paragraph, the term distributor excludes a beverage manufacturer who does not engage in the sale of filled beverage containers to a dealer. A distributor must:
  1. (i) accept, from any dealer or redemption center, any empty beverage containers of the type sold by the distributor regardless of whether or not the filled beverage container was originally sold by the distributor; and
  2. (ii) pay the dealer or redemption center the refund value of each such beverage container.
3. (3) A distributor who sells beverages in beverage containers to a person who sells such beverages to a consumer for on-premises consumption must:
  1. (i) accept from that person all such empty beverage containers; and
  2. (ii) pay that person the refund value of each such empty beverage container.
4. (4) Once the refund value of an empty beverage container has been paid by a distributor who initiates deposits on that type of beverage container, no person may knowingly accept that empty beverage container from, or give or sell it to, any person for the purpose of obtaining the refund value from any person.
5. (5) A distributor who initiates a deposit on a type of beverage container must:
  1. (i) accept empty beverage containers of that type from a distributor who does not initiate deposits on beverage containers of that type;
  2. (ii) pay to such distributor the refund value of each such empty beverage container; and
  3. (iii) pay to such distributor the handling fee on each such beverage container, as specified in section 367.6 of this Part.
(b) A distributor may require a dealer or redemption center to sort containers to be redeemed according to brand and, within brand, according to amount of deposit and, within amount of deposit, according to whether the container is intended to be refilled. Distributors may make agreements with dealers or redemption centers specifying alternate sorting arrangements.
(c) Acceptance of empty beverage containers by a distributor from a dealer or a redemption center as specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section is subject to the following additional requirements:
1. (1) The distributor must pick up such empty beverage containers, at the distributor's expense, from a dealer at least as often as such distributor delivers filled beverage containers to such dealer.
2. (2) The distributor must pick up such empty beverage containers, at the distributor's expense, from any redemption center which is located in the distributor's primary marketing area, which is not operated by or for the benefit of a dealer or distributor, and which accepts empty beverage containers only from redeemers.
3. (3) Pickup of empty beverage containers from a redemption center must be on a frequency schedule agreed to between the distributor and the redemption center. However, in no event may the frequency be less than once every two weeks, unless the redemption center agrees that the volume of containers to be accepted from the redemption center does not warrant biweekly collection.
4. (4) The distributor must promptly pay to each dealer or redemption center all applicable refunds and handling fees specified in this Part. The distributor may make such payments to each dealer or redemption center according to the same terms imposed on such dealer or redemption center for payment to such distributor for filled beverage containers. If filled beverage containers are not purchased by the dealer or redemption center from the distributor, such payments must be made not later than 10 business days after acceptance of the empty beverage containers. If payment is made by mail, it is deemed to be made on the postmark date.
(d) A dealer may not limit the number of empty beverage containers to be accepted for redemption at the dealer's place of business to less than 240 containers per redeemer per day. A dealer who chooses to so limit the number of empty beverage containers accepted for redemption must post a notice of such limit in a prominent place at the point at the dealer's place of business where empty beverage containers are accepted for redemption. Such notice must also state that any redeemer may make 48-hour advance arrangements to redeem an unlimited number of empty beverage containers.
(e) A dealer may not limit the hours for acceptance of empty beverage containers for redemption to less than the hours the dealer is open for business, except that on any day that the dealer is open for business less than 24 hours, the dealer may restrict or refuse redemptions during the first and the last half hour of the hours the dealer is open for business.
(f) A dealer or distributor who discontinues the sale of a beverage in a beverage container, must redeem the deposit on that type of beverage container for a period of at least 60 days following the date of discontinuance of sale. If a dealer or distributor intends to limit the period for redeeming any such container, a conspicuous notice must be posted at the point of sale announcing the discontinuance of sale, identifying the type of beverage container being discontinued, and identifying the period of time during which redemptions will continue to be made.
(g) The commissioner may, from time to time, prepare guidelines for contracts or agreements between distributors and dealers or redemption centers. Copies of any such guidelines may be obtained from any regional office of the Department of Environmental Conservation.