An Act to expand the bottle bill

1 of 2 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3420 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3690 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: Marjorie C. Decker _________________ To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled: The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: An Act to expand the bottle bill. _______________ PETITION OF: NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED: Marjorie C. Decker 25th Middlesex 1/20/2023 Lindsay N. Sabadosa 1st Hampshire 1/20/2023 David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf 17th Worcester 1/25/2023 Sally P. Kerans 13th Essex 1/26/2023 Sal N. DiDomenico Middlesex and Suffolk 1/27/2023 Natalie M. Blais 1st Franklin 1/30/2023 Vanna Howard 17th Middlesex 1/31/2023 Steven Owens 29th Middlesex 2/2/2023 Adrian C. Madaro 1st Suffolk 2/6/2023 Michelle M. DuBois 10th Plymouth 2/7/2023 David Allen Robertson 19th Middlesex 2/8/2023 Jack Patrick Lewis 7th Middlesex 2/8/2023 David M. Rogers 24th Middlesex 2/10/2023 Jennifer Balinsky Armini 8th Essex 2/12/2023 Joanne M. Comerford Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester 2/13/2023 Natalie M. Higgins 4th Worcester 2/28/2023 Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex 3/8/2023 William J. Driscoll, Jr. 7th Norfolk 3/21/2023 2 of 2 James C. Arena-DeRosa 8th Middlesex 3/22/2023 Tommy Vitolo 15th Norfolk 3/30/2023 Dawne Shand 1st Essex 3/30/2023 Simon Cataldo 14th Middlesex 4/3/2023 Kristin E. Kassner 2nd Essex 4/6/2023 Jason M. Lewis Fifth Middlesex 4/11/2023 Antonio F. D. Cabral 13th Bristol 4/24/2023 Samantha Montaño 15th Suffolk 4/25/2023 James Arciero 2nd Middlesex 6/5/2023 Marcus S. Vaughn 9th Norfolk 6/8/2023 Ruth B. Balser 12th Middlesex 6/15/2023 Tram T. Nguyen 18th Essex 6/20/2023 James B. Eldridge Middlesex and Worcester 6/22/2023 Mindy Domb 3rd Hampshire 6/22/2023 Brian W. Murray 10th Worcester 6/25/2023 Rebecca L. Rausch Norfolk, Worcester and Middlesex 6/26/2023 Margaret R. Scarsdale 1st Middlesex 6/27/2023 Joan B. Lovely Second Essex 7/20/2023 Erika Uyterhoeven 27th Middlesex 8/4/2023 Christine P. Barber 34th Middlesex 8/8/2023 John J. Lawn, Jr. 10th Middlesex 1/23/2024 Kate Donaghue 19th Worcester 2/7/2024 Walter F. Timilty Norfolk, Plymouth and Bristol 2/12/2024 Carmine Lawrence Gentile 13th Middlesex 2/29/2024 Jay D. Livingstone 8th Suffolk 3/20/2024 1 of 4 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3420 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3690 By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3690) of Marjorie C. Decker and others for legislation to expand the bottle bill to include any drinkable liquid intended for human oral consumption. Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION SEE HOUSE, NO. 3289 OF 2021-2022.] The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court (2023-2024) _______________ An Act to expand the bottle bill. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Section 321 of Chapter 94 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 2 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definitions of “Beverage” and “Beverage 3 container” and inserting in place thereof the following definitions:- 4 "Beverage", any drinkable liquid intended for human oral consumption. This definition 5 shall not include nutritive drinks including milk (as defined in FDA 21 CFR 131.110), milk 6 substitutes, non-alcoholic fermented drinks or non-carbonated fruit juice made by producers who 7 sell less than 100,000 units a year, any drug regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and 8 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), infant formula, or a meal replacement liquid. 2 of 4 9 “Beverage container”, any prepackaged container made of any material, including glass, 10 plastic, metal, or multi-material, the volume of which is not more than 2.5 liters for 11 noncarbonated beverage containers and not more than 3 liters for carbonated beverage 12 containers. This definition shall not include beverage container packaging that is a carton, a 13 pouch, or aseptic packaging. 14 SECTION 2. Section 322 of said chapter 94 is hereby amended by striking out the word 15 “five” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 10 16 SECTION 3. Section 323 of said chapter 94 is hereby amended, in paragraph (b), by 17 inserting after “returned” the following:- ; provided that this subsection shall not apply to a 18 dealer whose place of business is less than 2,000 square feet. A redemption center or reverse 19 vending machine must pay the refund value at the time the beverage container is returned unless 20 an account system is in place and the customer requests that the amount of the refund value due 21 is placed into an account to be held for the benefit of the consumer and funded in a manner that 22 allows the consumer to obtain deposits due within 2 business days of the time of the return 23 SECTION 4. Said section 323 of said chapter 94 is hereby further amended, in subsection 24 (c), by striking out the word “one” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2.75 25 SECTION 5. Said section 323 of said chapter 94 is hereby further amended, in subsection 26 (e), by striking out the word “one” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 3.75 27 SECTION 6. Section 325 of said Chapter 94 is hereby amended, in subsection (b), by 28 striking out the word “five” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 10 3 of 4 29 SECTION 7. Section 326 of said Chapter 94 is hereby amended, in line 7, by inserting 30 after the word “sections” the following:- . The secretary shall review handling fees at least every 31 3 years. In reviewing handling fees, the secretary shall consider whether there is a sufficient 32 number of points of redemption across the commonwealth and whether a higher handling fee 33 would increase the number of points of redemption. The secretary shall review the refund value 34 of beverage containers at least every 3 years. In reviewing the refund value of beverage 35 containers, the secretary shall consider whether a higher refund value would increase the 36 redemption and recycling rate and whether the following redemption and recycling targets have 37 been met: (1) by December 31, 2025, at least 65 percent of all beverage containers are redeemed 38 and recycled; (2) by December 31, 2027, 75 percent of all beverage containers are redeemed and 39 recycled; (3) by December 31, 2029, 85 percent of all beverage containers are redeemed and 40 recycled; and (4) by December 31, 2031, 95 percent of all beverage containers are redeemed and 41 recycled. The secretary shall also consider the redemption and recycling rates of subcategories of 42 beverage containers and may increase the refund value of specific subcategories of beverage 43 containers if necessary to increase their rate of redemption and recycling to the prior-listed target 44 levels 45 SECTION 8. Said chapter 94 is hereby amended by inserting after section 323E the 46 following section:- 47 Section 323F. There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate 48 fund to be known as the Clean Environment Fund. Amounts deposited in said fund shall be used, 49 subject to appropriation, solely for programs and projects in the management of solid waste and 50 for environmental protection; provided, however, that no funds shall be used for costs associated 51 with incineration. 4 of 4 52 SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on December 31, 2023.