Redemption Center opens on Main Street in T-burg

Late last month, Trumansburg locals Nick and Amy Moe ripped up heaps of carpet and added a fresh coat of paint to open Trumansburg Redemption Center at 65 W. Main St., the former home of T-Fit Gym and before that, Movie Gallery.

The redemption center is set up to take cans and bottles from individuals and businesses in exchange for their 5-cent deposits. It’s now open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Nick is the son of Pat and Jackie Moe, owners of the Finger Lakes Beverage Center (FLBC) in Ithaca, where he worked for the last 17 years. Nick learned about thousands of types of beer during that time, as well as the can and bottle redemption process.

Nick said that during COVID he wasn’t working as many hours at FLBC as usual, which made him realize he was ready for a more permanent change.

“I found out that I like being with the family, with the kids,” Nick said. “I wanted something with a little bit more regular hours. We’re 9 to 5 here. I get to be home for dinner.”

In July of this year, he and his wife, Amy, started looking into the idea of opening their own place for T-burg residents to return cans and bottles. At that time, the closest redemption centers were in Ithaca and Interlaken.

“We saw this spot was vacant for quite some time and kicked some ideas around,” Amy said. “The location was it for sure, in between Interlaken and Ithaca. People don’t have to drive so far now.”

Nick is still part owner of FLBC, with a small stake in the company, but he’s not working there anymore. Now, he and Amy both do shifts at the new business, taking turns running home to take care of their four kids, ages 1 to 12 years old.

“Our oldest has been super helpful helping us babysit,” Amy said. “They’re all doing remote learning, so that’s been a little bit of a struggle. Nick knows what he’s doing though, so I can run home; it’s just 3 miles away, so that’s perfect.”

At Trumansburg Redemption Center, there are three options for customers: they can count their cans and bottles themselves on long tables, have staff quickly run items through a counting machine or drop off bags and come back later to pick up their cash.

Nick said that one of the selling points for customers is that they’re lenient — they take every container that’s allowed to be redeemed in New York state. Not all machines at grocery stores will take everything, and Amy notes that it can be a messy chore sometimes.

“It’s convenient to them,” Amy said of their services. “They can feel free to just drop it off and come back at their convenience. We’re trying to make it easy for everybody.”

The space is very large, which makes it easy for customers and staff to stay 6 feet apart. Masks are required inside, and Amy says they sanitize surfaces frequently during the day.

After a transaction with a customer is finished, Nick and Amy have to sort each item by distributor. Once a week, a company out of Horseheads picks up everything and sends them a check.

New York is one of 10 states in the United States with container deposit legislation, known as “bottle bills.” According to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation website, the New York State Returnable Container Act went into effect in July of 1983.

The act makes a redemption center a profitable business because it states that whoever sorts the containers is entitled to a 3.5-cent handling fee plus the deposit on every container returned to the distributor.

This allows redemption centers to offer even more than 5 cents back to customers sometimes. Amy said that on Halloween, they offered 6 cents per item to anyone dressed in costume and for anyone with an “I Voted sticker” on Election Day.

The couple also now has the ability to help fundraisers in a big way. Currently, there are donation boxes set up inside the redemption center for people to put cans and bottles into. Nick and Amy count the items and put the money into the fundraiser box.

So far, they have supported T-burg Takes on Pediatric Cancer, the South Seneca Wrestling team and the T-burg Robotics Club. As time goes on, the couple hopes to be able to add their own money to the fundraisers and even do matching donations.

“Supporting fundraisers was a big thing we were looking to do,” Amy said. “We’re excited to do it for organizations in our community.”

New York’s bottle bill was introduced to deal with litter, save landfill space, conserve energy and to incentivize everyone to recycle. Deposits are required on carbonated soft drinks, beer, water and wine cooler. Glass, metal and plastic containers that hold less than 1 gallon are all part of the rule.

According to the DEC, redemption rates have been 70 to 80% since the act went into effect and beverage container litter has been reduced by 75%.

Redemption centers also help take the burden of dealing with recyclables off of town and city governments. Nick said that they’ve picked up cans and bottles from a few local businesses, and in the future, they may want to take their operation one step further by offering residential pickup.

“We’re still working out the logistics of how that would work,” Nick said.