Boasting a staff that prides itself on a commitment to swiftness, cleanliness, friendliness, honesty and convenience, a new redemption center is getting newly settled in on West Manlius Street in East Syracuse.
Located in the space where the old Family Dollar used to be, ESM Bottle Return held a grand opening on Sept. 11 of this year, though the business has been in operation since late June.
The Saturday event featured a one-time-only prize wheel that customers could spin to earn either the customary 5 cents back per returnable beverage container or up to 10 cents a piece, depending on which panel they landed on.
That day, a maximum of 1,000 cans could be processed for more than 5 cents, but as always, more could be brought into the bottle return in exchange for that now-regular refund.
Throughout the grand opening, free hot dogs, sodas, bags of chips and koozies emblazoned with the business’ logo were given out to people who stopped in.
“It was a good day,” said Kevin Lanning, the president and CEO of ESM Bottle Return. “We had a great turnout, and everybody enjoyed themselves. I think they’re happy we’re here.”
Lanning looks after three other bottle returns—one in Lyncourt, one in Western Lights Plaza and another in Cicero—but he thought the large facility at 600 West Manlius St. would be a perfect fit for the fourth.
The long-standing motto that umbrellas the grouping of bottle returns owned by Lanning has forever started off with the word “fast.”
That characteristic is proven by the sorters at the helm of the three stations inside the East Syracuse location. Their process for getting an accurate count involves keeping track by hand with zero technology, only focus.
According to Lanning, from the start of the Sept. 11 grand opening to its end, a total of 42,000 bottles and cans were tallied and vacuumed into the building’s holding tank.
Although the employees immerse themselves in their task once they dump out each bag full of returnables, they often enough make sure to engage regulars and newcomers alike with a smile and a greeting, a sign of the “friendliness” referred to in the slogan.
They also do their best to keep honesty at the forefront.
“There’s no sense in ripping somebody off for a nickel or a dime, because we want a good word of mouth and we want repeat customers,” Lanning said.
To ensure even more solidly that people revisit the bottle return, he aims for the “cleanliness” mentioned in that motto to become apparent as well.
“No disrespect to other bottle returns, but some out there are kind of run-down and dark and dingy and sticky,” Lanning said. “When you walk in here, it’s very presentable and welcoming. We’re always wiping down countertops, sanitizing the place with bleach and mopping up if there’s a leak.”
The last in the string of attributes is “convenience,” which comes into play with the pick-up service offered by all four bottle returns. This service is extended to schools, churches, businesses like restaurants and bars, nearby private residences with “substantial” amounts of bottles and cans, and youth groups holding charitable bottle drives.
Furthermore, all store brands are accepted by these bottle returns with no limit as to how many containers can be redeemed at one time.
“As long as it’s stamped with ‘New York 5 cent deposit’ on its label, we’ll take it,” Lanning said. “You go elsewhere and some of the brands might get rejected, like Clover Valley, Save a Lot and so on.”
ESM Bottle Return on West Manlius, Lyncourt Bottle Return on Arterial Road, Western Lights Bottle Return on Onondaga Boulevard and Plank Road Bottle Return on Brewerton Road are all currently looking for part-time hires. Those interested can stop into any one of the establishments to obtain an application.
The East Syracuse spot is, as of now, the only one of the four that closes on Sundays. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
