How much New York bottle deposit money goes unclaimed?

$151.4 million in 2023. Source: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 1, from NYS fiscal year tax collections. The state keeps 80% of unclaimed deposits. Distributors keep 20%.

What is the New York bottle return rate?

68.6% in 2024. This is the redemption rate. Source: NYS DEC, via Container Recycling Institute Bottle Bill Resource Guide.

How many people in New York live in a redemption desert?

About 165,852 people. That is 0.8% of people in New York. A desert means the closest return spot is more than 10 miles away, or more than 3 miles in a crowded area.

Where are the redemption centers near me in New York?

Our New York map has 2,912 return spots. Search by city or ZIP on the New York page.

Where can I return bottles in a rural New York county?

The table on this page lists the closest return spots for the most rural counties. Call ahead before you drive.

Redemption Deserts · New York

New York redemption deserts and unclaimed deposits

Can people in New York get their deposit back? It depends on where they live. Here is how far people live from a place to return bottles and cans.

165,852people live in a redemption desert

0.8%of people in New York (rank 8 of 10)

$151.4 millionunclaimed deposits (2023)

68.6%redemption rate (2024)

How sure are we? Medium. We list grocery stores because the law says they must take returns. Some may not, so real access may be worse than shown.

Key findings for New York

About 165,852 of 20,201,249 people live in a redemption desert.
165,852 people live more than 10 miles from the closest return spot.
The typical trip is 0.4 miles in a straight line. 74.4% of people live within 1 mile.
Lewis County is hardest hit. 34.3% of people there live in a desert.
$151.4 million in deposits went unclaimed in 2023.

Unclaimed money and return rate

Unclaimed deposits: $151.4 million (2023). Source: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 1, from NYS fiscal year tax collections. The state keeps 80% of unclaimed deposits. Distributors keep 20%.
Return rate: 68.6% (2024), the redemption rate. Source: NYS DEC, via Container Recycling Institute Bottle Bill Resource Guide.
Deposit: 5¢.

Map of New York counties

Map loads as you scroll…

Worst counties

New York counties with the biggest share of people in a desert
County	People	In a desert	Share	Typical trip
Lewis County	26,582	9,122	34.3%	4.7 mi
Hamilton County	5,107	1,747	34.2%	5.8 mi
Essex County	37,381	9,415	25.2%	3.9 mi
Clinton County	79,843	19,307	24.2%	4.4 mi
Otsego County	58,524	12,698	21.7%	4.4 mi
St. Lawrence County	108,505	20,966	19.3%	2.6 mi
Franklin County	47,555	7,147	15%	2.5 mi
Schoharie County	29,714	3,477	11.7%	5.8 mi
Chenango County	47,220	4,848	10.3%	4.2 mi
Jefferson County	116,721	11,657	10%	1.9 mi

New York towns and places where most people live in a desert
Town or place	People	In a desert	Share	Typical trip
Dannemora village	2,886	2,886	100%	10.7 mi
Boonville village	2,461	2,461	100%	18.1 mi
Franklinville village	2,203	2,203	100%	11.7 mi
Edmeston CDP	1,907	1,907	100%	11.8 mi
Dundee village	1,624	1,624	100%	10.4 mi
Waddington village	1,441	1,441	100%	10.8 mi
Worcester CDP	1,283	1,283	100%	12.4 mi
Port Leyden village	1,070	1,070	100%	14.7 mi
Chaumont village	1,065	1,065	100%	10.2 mi

Best-served places

New York counties with the shortest typical trip
County	People	Share	Typical trip
New York County	1,694,251	0%	0.1 mi
Kings County	2,736,074	0%	0.2 mi
Queens County	2,405,464	0%	0.2 mi
Bronx County	1,472,654	0%	0.2 mi
Richmond County	495,747	0%	0.4 mi
Nassau County	1,395,774	0%	0.5 mi
Westchester County	1,004,457	0%	0.6 mi
Rockland County	338,329	0%	0.7 mi

New York towns (20,000 people or more) with the shortest typical trip
Town or place	People	Share	Typical trip
New York city	8,804,190	0%	0.2 mi
Mineola village	20,811	0%	0.3 mi
Ithaca city	30,156	0%	0.3 mi
Kiryas Joel village	32,374	0%	0.3 mi
Monsey CDP	28,006	0%	0.3 mi
Utica city	65,283	0%	0.4 mi
Mamaroneck village	20,151	0%	0.4 mi
Ossining village	27,551	0%	0.4 mi

Where to return bottles in rural New York counties

These are the most rural counties. We list the closest return spots to where most people live. Distances are straight-line. Call ahead.

Closest return spots for rural New York counties
County	Typical trip	Closest return spots
Hamilton County	5.8 mi	Charlie Johns (Speculator, 7.7 mi) · Tops North Creek (North Creek, 20.8 mi) · Kalil's Market (Inlet, 22.5 mi)
Schoharie County	5.8 mi	Walmart Supercenter (Cobleskill, 2.8 mi) · Price Chopper Cobleskill (Cobleskill, 3.2 mi) · Hannaford (Esperance, 12.5 mi)
Schuyler County	5 mi	Walmart Supercenter (Watkins Glen, 0.7 mi) · Tops Watkins Glen (Watkins Glen, 1.3 mi) · Jubilee Foods (Horseheads, 14.8 mi)
Lewis County	4.7 mi	Walmart Supercenter (Lowville, 1.8 mi) · Tops Lowville (Lowville, 2 mi) · IGA (Croghan, 7.8 mi)
Yates County	4.5 mi	ALDI (Penn Yan, 2 mi) · Tops Penn Yan (Penn Yan, 2.2 mi) · Crooked Lake Mercentaile (Branchport, 4.6 mi)
Otsego County	4.4 mi	Price Chopper Oneonta (Oneonta, 7.5 mi) · Green Earth Health Food Market (Oneonta, 7.8 mi) · ALDI (Oneonta, 8 mi)
Chenango County	4.2 mi	Walmart Supercenter (Norwich, 2.4 mi) · Price Chopper Norwich (Norwich, 3.2 mi) · Save-A-Lot (Norwich, 3.4 mi)
Tioga County	4.1 mi	Price Chopper Owego (Owego, 2.2 mi) · ALDI (Owego, 3.6 mi) · Weis (Endicott, 11.6 mi)

See all 2,912 New York return spots · Download county data (CSV)

How we did this

We used 2020 Census data on where people live. We found the closest return spot on our New York list in a straight line. A desert is more than 10 miles away, or more than 3 miles in a crowded area. Read the full method.

Our New York list: Sources: Wegmans, Tops, Stop & Shop, Trader Joe's, Costco, ALDI, Key Food and Price Chopper/Market 32 store locators, Unlimited Redemption's locations page, and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), all retrieved 2026-10-13. Law: NYSDEC, New York's Bottle Bill and Redemption Center and Dealer Requirements pages (ECL Article 27, Title 10).