Bigger Better Bottle Bill takes effect
The Bigger Better Bottle Bill is in full effect requiring a five cent deposit on all bottled water. The one week grace period for bottling and redemption centers to comply ended Saturday. Our Katie Gibas tells us what the new law means for you and what does and doesn't qualify for that five cent deposit.
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NEW YORK STATE -- Next time you go to the grocery store, bottled water is going to cost you more thanks to the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. The one week grace period before mandatory compliance is now over, so you'll be paying a five cent deposit on bottled water.
"It's confusing. There are a lot of different brands and a lot of different things that you pay a deposit on and a lot that you don't. Pretty much, basically everything that they brought back before and then the water bottles," said Russell Pope, Griff's Redemption Center manager.
"You can bring back soda, beer and water bottles only. No Gatorade, no teas, no sugared waters, just clear water," said Robert Griffin, Griff's Redemption Center Owner.
But what if you bought these water bottles two weeks ago, before the law went into effect? Can you return them? Will you get a deposit?
"The old water bottles, if there's not a deposit on them, they should either give them to their local recycling place. Or they can bring them here and drop them off, and we'll dispose of them for them, but there's no value to them," said Griffin.
Some recently purchased water might have a deposit, and some might not, so make sure to look at your bottles and receipts to see which one you have.
"Make sure that you check the bottle for a deposit because some of the bottles were stamped and some of them were on the labels, so you have to look very closely to make sure that you're not being charged for something that there's no money back on," said Griffin.
Within the next few days, grocery stores should only have water with deposits on their shelves.