Cardboard tombstones on the steps of Albany’s state Capitol building bore the names of bottle redemption centers across the state — in Plattsburgh, Utica, Buffalo, Syracuse, Batavia, Brooklyn and elsewhere — that have shut down in recent months.
“New York is Killing Small Business,” one sign declared.
To make the point, Jade Eddy, cloaked head to toe in black and toting a plastic scythe, played the Grim Reaper.
“We’re currently being paid 2009 pay while suffering 2024 expenses,” said Eddy, the owner of MT Returnables in Queensbury, on Monday. “It’s become impossible to operate under those circumstances…It’s causing businesses to close down in droves. It’s put a lot of people out of work unnecessarily.”
As state lawmakers returned from a post-budget break, a coalition of small business owners, environmental groups and bottle collectors were there at the state Capitol to get their attention.
They called for updating the state’s 40-year-old Bottle Bill by doubling the nickel deposit for cans and bottles and expanding the types of containers that can be redeemed to include wine and liquor bottles and non-carbonated beverages like teas and sports drinks. New York would join Maine, California, Connecticut and Oregon as states that include non-carbonated beverages.