An act relating to the beverage container redemption system

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.175 2021 Page 1 of 6 VT LEG #352971 v.1 H.175 1 Introduced by Representative McCullough of Williston 2 Referred to Committee on 3 Date: 4 Subject: Conservation and development; beverage container redemption; 5 deposit amount; handling fee 6 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to expand the 7 beverage container deposit-redemption system to include water bottles, wine 8 bottles, and containers for all noncarbonated and carbonated drinks, except for 9 milk, rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, hemp seed milk, and dairy products. 10 The bill also would increase the deposit on all beverage containers, except 11 those containing liquor, from five cents to ten cents. The bill would require a 12 deposit for all containers containing liquor and would increase the handling fee 13 for non-commingled containers from four cents to five cents per container. 14 An act relating to the beverage container redemption system 15 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 16 * * * Beverage Container Redemption * * * 17 Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. chapter 53 is amended to read: 18 CHAPTER 53. BEVERAGE CONTAINERS; DEPOSIT-REDEMPTION 19 SYSTEM 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.175 2021 Page 2 of 6 VT LEG #352971 v.1 § 1521. DEFINITIONS 1 For the purpose of As used in this chapter: 2 (1) “Beverage” means beer or other malt beverages and, mineral waters, 3 mixed wine drink drinks, wine, soda water and, carbonated and noncarbonated 4 soft drinks, carbonated and noncarbonated water, and all other nonalcoholic 5 carbonated and noncarbonated drinks in liquid form and intended for human 6 consumption, except for milk, rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, hemp seed 7 milk, and dairy products. As of January 1, 1990, “beverage” also shall mean 8 means liquor. 9 (2) “Biodegradable material” means material that is capable of being 10 broken down by bacteria into basic elements. 11 (3) “Container” means the individual, separate, bottle, can, jar, or carton 12 composed of glass, metal, paper, plastic, or any combination of those materials 13 and containing a consumer product. This definition shall does not include 14 containers made of biodegradable material. 15 (4) “Distributor” means every person who engages in the sale of 16 consumer products in containers to a dealer in this State including any 17 manufacturer who engages in such sales. Any dealer or retailer who sells, at 18 the retail level, beverages in containers without having purchased them from a 19 person otherwise classified as a distributor, shall be is a distributor. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.175 2021 Page 3 of 6 VT LEG #352971 v.1 (5) “Manufacturer” means every person bottling, canning, packing, or 1 otherwise filling containers for sale to distributors or dealers. 2 (6) “Recycling” means the process of sorting, cleansing, treating, and 3 reconstituting waste and other discarded materials for the purpose of reusing 4 the materials in the same or altered form. 5 (7) “Redemption center” means a store or other location where any 6 person may, during normal business hours, redeem the amount of the deposit 7 for any empty beverage container labeled or certified pursuant to section 1524 8 of this title. 9 (8) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Natural Resources. 10 (9) “Mixed wine drink” means a beverage containing wine and more 11 than 15 percent added plain, carbonated, or sparkling water; and that contains 12 added natural or artificial blended material, such as fruit juices, flavors, 13 flavoring, adjuncts, coloring, or preservatives; that contains not more than 14 16 percent alcohol by volume; or other similar product marketed as a wine 15 cooler. 16 (10) “Liquor” means spirits as defined in 7 V.S.A. § 2. 17 § 1522. BEVERAGE CONTAINERS; DEPOSIT 18 (a) Except with respect to beverage containers that contain liquor, a deposit 19 of not less than five ten cents shall be paid by the consumer on each beverage 20 container sold at the retail level and refunded to the consumer upon return of 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.175 2021 Page 4 of 6 VT LEG #352971 v.1 the empty beverage container. With respect to beverage containers of volume 1 greater than 50 ml. that contain liquor, a deposit of 15 cents shall be paid by 2 the consumer on each beverage container sold at the retail level and refunded 3 to the consumer upon return of the empty beverage container. The difference 4 between liquor bottle deposits collected and refunds made is hereby retained 5 by the Liquor Control Enterprise Fund for administration of this subsection. 6 (b) A retailer or a person operating a redemption center who redeems 7 beverage containers shall be reimbursed by the manufacturer or distributor of 8 such beverage containers in an amount that is three and one-half cents per 9 container for containers of beverage brands that are part of a commingling 10 program and four five cents per container for containers of beverage brands 11 that are not part of a commingling program. 12 (c) [Repealed.] 13 (d) Containers shall be redeemed during no fewer than 40 hours per week 14 during the regular operating hours of the establishment. 15 * * * 16 § 1524. LABELING 17 (a) Every beverage container sold or offered for sale at retail in this State 18 shall clearly indicate by embossing or, imprinting on the normal product label, 19 or in the case of a metal beverage container on the top of the container other 20 approved method secured to the container, the word “Vermont” or the letters 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.175 2021 Page 5 of 6 VT LEG #352971 v.1 “VT” and the refund value of the container in not less than one-eighth inch 1 type size or such other alternate indications as may be approved by the 2 Secretary. This subsection does not prohibit including names or abbreviations 3 of other states with deposit legislation comparable to this chapter. 4 (b) The Commissioner of Liquor and Lottery may allow, in the case of 5 liquor bottles, a conspicuous, adhesive sticker to be attached to indicate the 6 deposit information required in subsection (a) of this section, provided that the 7 size, placement, and adhesive qualities of the sticker are as approved by the 8 Commissioner. The stickers shall be affixed to the bottles by the 9 manufacturer, except that liquor that is sold in the State in quantities less than 10 100 cases per year may have stickers affixed by personnel employed by the 11 Division of Liquor Control. 12 (c) This section shall not apply to permanently labeled beverage containers. 13 (d) The Secretary may allow, in the case of wine bottles, a conspicuous 14 adhesive sticker to be attached to indicate the deposit information required in 15 subsection (a) of this section, provided that the size, placement, and adhesive 16 qualities of the sticker are as approved by the Secretary. The sticker shall be 17 affixed by the manufacturer. 18 * * * 19 Sec. 2. Subdivision 10-109(b) of the Agency of Natural Resources’ 20 Environmental Protection Regulations for the Deposit for Beverage 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.175 2021 Page 6 of 6 VT LEG #352971 v.1 Containers is amended to read: 1 (b) Any commingling agreement shall contain, at a minimum, the 2 following criteria: 3 (1) The agreement shall include pick up of commingled beverage 4 containers from: 5 (A) at least 30 percent of the beverage containers redeemed in the 6 state State of Vermont; or 7 (B) as otherwise approved by the Secretary. 8 * * * 9 * * * Effective Date* * * 10 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 11 This act shall take effect on July 1, 2021. 12