Our Greece Redemption Center Reviews
We are committed to being the best Greece redemption center. With the cleanest centers and friendliest staff we can proudly call ourselves Western NY’s best locally owned.
Greece Bottle Return FAQ
Who we are?
Handling your redeemables is a task that no one looks forward to doing. At Upstate, it is our goal to make this dirty, time-consuming task as clean and as quick as possible for you! Once you start using our Greece redemption center we guarantee you will never go back to another bottle machine or recycling center again!
What do we accept?
We buy back anything with a NYS 5 cent redemption mark on it. If you are unsure, check the lable of your bottle or can; or the top of the can. It will have the states that you can redeem the item in listed.
What don't we accept?
- Non-deposit bottles & cans
- Gatorade
- Iced Teas
- Juice
- Milk, etc. Our buyer’s plant does not process non-deposits.
- Kegs
- Growlers
- Water cooler jugs
- Crumpled or crunch items
- Wrapperless items
Why no crushed or wrapperless items?
We have to sell the bottles and cans back based on average bag capacity per the size of the item. So, if we put crushed cans in our bags we are putting in a lot more than the average bag capacity and lose money. If we don’t have wrappers to identify the item, we can’t put it with the correct bags to be properly accounted.
How do we make money?
New York Bottle Bill approved in 2009 awards a handling fee for every bottle and can taken in by a redemption center. Redemption centers help ease the return traffic on stores. We make our money off the resale, not off of you.
Do we take all recycling?
In a way, Our Greece Redemption Center can recycle the cardboard and plastic bags that you bring your recycling in. But, we cannot accept cardboard and plastic in bulk. Our intermediary won’t buy back non-drinking receptacles and the garbage bill would be too high to not charge you. Sorry!
We recommend taking all of your other recycling needs to ecopark. They can recycle most things for free, small fee can apply for more hazardous materials.
Does it matter where I bought them?
Nope. Redemption centers will accept anything and everything with a New York deposit. We sort the recycling as we take it in and it all ends up bring accounted for down the line.
However, if the bottle or can was purchased in a non-deposit state, we cannot pay for it as there was never a deposit on it to begin with.
What makes it depositable or not?
This is a tricky question to answer. Truth be told, we have not been able to find a great answer to this. We did not exist yet when it passed and our research has not led to a reliable source for an answer. For now the most we can tell you is carbonated drinks and water and usually depositable and non-carbonated drinks such as wine & Gatorade are not depositable. Exceptions to the rule do exist. Check the label item, it will tell you.
What if my bags are gross?
We know your bottles and cans might get dirty & sticky from time to time and it’s OK, we have gloves! We just ask that you try your best not mix in excess garbage. However, for sanitary reasons we cannot accept insect infected bags or rotting food.