Yorktown building may house new Cash for Cans redemption facility

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — Plans are in the works to bring a bottle and can redemption center to Crompond Road.

Surjeet Bassi, owner of Cash for Cans, is looking to lease the former Quality Lawnmower property at 3711 Crompond Road for his recycling business. Rich Sautner, who owns the building with his wife, said they believe it would be a good use of the space.

Bassi and Sautner appeared before the Town Board at its Aug. 12 work session to ensure they are complying with town protocols and code requirements.

According to Bassi, who operates other Cash for Cans facilities in Carmel Hamlet and other parts of the state, the facility accepts bottles and cans for 5 cents each. Items are collected from residents and returned to the original beverage companies, which handle the pickup of the containers.

The existing building would remain unchanged, according to Sautner, but still the proposal raised some concerns from the board regarding the size of the tractor trailers needed to remove the cans.

Planning Director John Tegeder said they would need a site plan process to regulate how the trucks are going to go in and out.

“Maybe there has to be a limitation per week," he said, adding that a brief change to the zoning code would be needed.

“The recommendation was that there is an actual line item added to the zone to allow bottle and can redemption and distinguish it from other recycling activities,” he said.

Tegeder added that a site plan would be necessary for a project like this to show how it would function.

“The exterior site will be used differently than Rich’s Lawnmowers," he noted.

In response to questions from Councilwoman Susan Siegel, Bassi said that the business is not in competition with the redemption machines found in grocery stores.

All storage would be kept indoors, with no items stored outside,” Bassi said. The facility would be open seven days a week, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Supervisor Ed Lachterman said that an addition to the law needs to be written. Then, it will likely be referred out at the Sept. 2 meeting, and the process will take about a month. A public hearing is likely to be held in October. He added that the site plan will hopefully address any outstanding questions.