Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
Chronicle staff writer Ben Westcott reports: Jade Eddy, owner of the Queensbury redemption center MT Returnables, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct Monday morning for a protest in which she dumped a U-Haul truck full of bags of non-redeemable bottles and cans outside the governor’s mansion in Albany.
Pointing toward the bottles, she said, “That is all work that New York State has forced me to do for free against my will.
“And now instead of letting me move my vehicle, we have law enforcement threatening to tow it. So that is what New York State is doing to hardworking New Yorkers. I’m fighting for my life out here and this is how they treat us.”
A statement from the NYS Police Public Information Office obtained by The Chronicle said that Peter Sidote, 50, of Dix Hills, was also charged with disorderly conduct.
“Both were issued appearance tickets returnable to Albany City Court on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m.,” the statement said.
“Ya girl is free!” read the caption on a video taken early Monday afternoon. Ms. Eddy said, “We did get arrested, they did put us in handcuffs, and they did take us in. Why? Because we want to be treated like human beings and be paid fairly, and not have to do unpaid labor. Governor Hochul, we’re looking at you. What are you going to do to fix this crisis?”
“Almost 200 redemption centers closed just since 2023,” said an MT Returnables Facebook post Sunday. “The state is destroying my father’s dream in this business and I have chosen to spend his birthday calling out their blatant hypocrisy and abuse of this system.
“The state continues to financially benefit by causing our closures. And that financial gain doesn’t come out of thin air. It comes from your pockets as they turn your deposit into a tax by cutting off your access to bottle return options. Redemption deserts are spreading like wildfire in New York State.”
Ms. Ball and other redemption centers have long pushed for an updated law that raises the deposit from 5 to 10 cents and increases the handling charge.
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