Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against The Juice Factory Corp. on Wednesday for allegedly violating New York's Returnable Container Act, also known as the Bottle Bill.
The company is accused of failing to remit $79,571 in unclaimed bottle deposits to the state, as required by law.
“The Bottle Bill is one of New York’s hallmark environmental laws," Schneiderman said. "Companies that skirt the Bottle Bill not only hurt recycling and litter prevention efforts, but also cheat the state out of money that benefits the public.”
The Bottle Bill program requires a 5 cent deposit on each bottle sold in the state. Unclaimed deposits are then sent in to the state by the distributor. Schneiderman said the bill has resulted in the reduction of roadside container litter by 70 percent, depleted 6 million tons of material waste and saved approximately 52 million barrels of oil.
“As our suit alleges, The Juice Factory broke the law by pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in unclaimed deposits that it owed to the state," Schneiderman said. "We will continue to aggressively enforce New York’s Bottle Bill and other environmental laws by ensuring that everyone plays by the same set of rules.”