Florida has no bottle deposit law. When you buy a soda, beer, water, or any other packaged beverage in the state, no refundable deposit is added to the price, and no Florida retailer or redemption center will pay you to bring the empty back. Florida handles beverage container recycling through county programs funded by utility fees rather than a per-container deposit.
States That Do Charge a Deposit
Ten states run deposit systems: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. Guam operates one as well. Deposits in those states range from two cents for standard refillable containers in Oregon to fifteen cents for wine and liquor bottles in Maine and Vermont, with a nickel or dime being typical for cans and bottles.1National Conference of State Legislatures. State Beverage Container Deposit Laws
Florida is not on that list, and no redemption infrastructure exists in the state.
What Florida Does Instead
State law puts the practical work of recycling on counties and municipalities. Every Florida county has to run a recycling program, and the materials collected typically include glass, plastic, aluminum, and paper.2Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 403.706 – Local Government Solid Waste Responsibilities
What that looks like at your address depends on where you live. Larger counties generally run single-stream curbside pickup: one bin for all recyclables. Counties with populations of 100,000 or less can meet their obligation by providing drop-off collection points and a public education campaign, so you may need to haul containers to a designated site rather than set them at the curb.2Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 403.706 – Local Government Solid Waste Responsibilities Accepted materials and pickup schedules vary with the local processing facility.
You pay for these services through your utility bill. The charges are non-refundable service fees set by local ordinance, covering collection, transportation, and processing. There is nothing to return and nothing to redeem.
Can You Get Any Money for Empties in Florida?
Aluminum cans have scrap value. Florida scrap metal yards buy them by the pound, with prices moving alongside the commodities market. In early 2026, Florida yards were paying roughly $0.38 to $0.75 per pound depending on location. Since it takes about 30 to 35 empty cans to make a pound, that works out to roughly a penny or two per can. Less than a deposit-state refund, but worth something if you save up a large quantity.
Glass and plastic containers have little to no scrap value for individual consumers in Florida. For those, your county curbside program or a local drop-off center is the practical option. Some private recycling facilities accept sorted plastics but rarely pay consumers directly.
Empties You Brought From a Deposit State
If you bought beverages in Michigan, New York, or another deposit state and carried the empties into Florida, you cannot redeem them here. No Florida retailer is set up to accept deposit returns, and no state law requires them to. The deposit is tied to the state where the container was sold and the fee collected. To get that money back, the containers have to go to a redemption center in the state of purchase.
The reverse move is worse than a lost nickel. Bringing non-deposit containers from Florida into a deposit state and running them through redemption machines is fraud. Michigan has specific criminal penalties for fraudulent container redemption, and several deposit states have been tightening enforcement, including tracking bulk drop-offs and authorizing police to pursue out-of-state violators. The individual deposits are small; the fines and potential criminal charges are not.