Relates to returnable beverage containers; repealer

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7722 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 1, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to returnable beverage containers; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 27-1003 of the environmental 2 conservation law, as amended by section 3 of part SS of chapter 59 of 3 the laws of 2009, is amended and a new subdivision 14 is added to read 4 as follows: 5 9. "Redemption center" means any person [ offering ] in compliance with 6 section 27-1013 of this title who is not a dealer and offers to pay the 7 refund value of an empty beverage container to a redeemer, or [ any 8 person ] who contracts with one or more dealers or distributors to 9 collect, sort and obtain the refund value and handling fee of empty 10 beverage containers for, or on behalf of, such dealer or distributor 11 [ under the provisions of section 27-1013 of this title ]. 12 14. "Commingling" means the sorting of beverage containers at a 13 redemption center by size and material type rather than by deposit 14 initiator in accordance with the requirements of an approved commingling 15 agreement. 16 § 2. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 27-1003 of the environmental 17 conservation law, as amended by section 2 of part SS of chapter 59 of 18 the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows: 19 1. "Beverage" means carbonated soft drinks, [ water ] noncarbonated 20 drinks , beer, other malt beverages and a wine product as defined in 21 subdivision thirty-six-a of section three of the alcoholic beverage 22 control law. "Noncarbonated drinks" means any noncarbonated liquid 23 intended for human consumption excluding "spirits" and "wine" as defined 24 in subdivisions twenty-nine and thirty-six of section three of the alco- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11876-01-5 S. 7722 2 1 holic beverage control law, beverages with dairy milk as the primary 2 (first) ingredient, drugs regulated under the federal food, drug and 3 cosmetic act, infant formula, or meal replacement liquids. "Malt bever- 4 ages" means any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation or 5 infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or other wholesome grain or 6 cereal and water including, but not limited to ale, stout or malt 7 liquor. [ "Water" means any beverage identified through the use of 8 letters, words or symbols on its product label as a type of water, 9 including any flavored water or nutritionally enhanced water, provided, 10 however, that "water" does not include any beverage identified as a type 11 of water to which a sugar has been added. ] 12 2. "Beverage container" means the individual, separate, sealed glass, 13 metal, aluminum, steel or [ plastic ] polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 14 bottle, can or jar used for containing three liters or less [ than one 15 gallon or 3.78 liters ] at the time of sale or offer for sale of a bever- 16 age intended for use or consumption in this state. Beverage containers 17 sold or offered for sale or distributed aboard aircraft or ships shall 18 be considered as intended for use or consumption outside this state. 19 § 3. Subdivisions 3, 6 and 8 of section 27-1007 of the environmental 20 conservation law, as added by section 4 of part SS of chapter 59 of the 21 laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows: 22 3. [ On or ] One year after [ June first, two thousand nine ] the effec- 23 tive date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-five which 24 amended this subdivision , a dealer [ may limit the number of empty bever- 25 age containers to be accepted for redemption at the dealer's ] whose 26 place of business [ to no ] is less than [ seventy-two containers per 27 visit, per redeemer, per day ] ten thousand square feet in size and whose 28 primary business is the sale of food or beverages for consumption off- 29 premises may obtain an exemption from the obligation to accept empty 30 beverage containers for redemption at such dealer's place of business 31 through an application process developed by the department , provided 32 that: 33 (a) The dealer has a written agreement with a redemption center, be it 34 either at a fixed physical location [ within the same county and within 35 one-half mile of the dealer's place of business, ] or a mobile redemption 36 center, [ operated by a redemption center, ] that is [ located within one- 37 quarter mile of the dealer's place of business. The redemption center 38 must have a written agreement with the dealer to accept containers on 39 behalf of the dealer; and the redemption center's hours of operation 40 must cover at least 9:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. daily or in the case of 41 a mobile redemption center, the hours of operation must cover at least 42 four consecutive hours between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. daily. ] : 43 (i) within five miles of the dealer's place of business for dealers in 44 a rural area as defined by subdivision seven of section four hundred 45 eighty-one of the executive law; or 46 (ii) within two miles of the dealer's place of business for dealers 47 elsewhere in the state; 48 (b) The affiliated redemption center operates: 49 (i) in a fixed location at least thirty-five hours per week including 50 at least six consecutive hours on Saturdays and operates until 7:00 p.m. 51 at least one day per week; or 52 (ii) as a mobile redemption center in the designated area at least 53 fifteen hours per week including at least four consecutive hours on 54 Saturdays; and 55 (c) The dealer must post a conspicuous, permanent sign, meeting the 56 size and color specifications set forth in subdivision two of this S. 7722 3 1 section, open to public view, identifying the location and hours of 2 operation of the affiliated redemption center or mobile redemption 3 center[ ; and 4 (b) The dealer provides, at a minimum, a consecutive two hour period 5 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. daily whereby the dealer will accept up 6 to two hundred forty containers, per redeemer, per day, and posts a 7 conspicuous, permanent sign, meeting the size and color specifications 8 set forth in subdivision two of this section, open to public view, iden- 9 tifying those hours. The dealer may not change the hours of redemption 10 without first posting a thirty day notice; and 11 (c) The dealer's primary business is the sale of food or beverages for 12 consumption off-premises, and the dealer's place of business is less 13 than ten thousand square feet in size ]. 14 6. In addition to the refund value of a beverage container as estab- 15 lished by section 27-1005 of this title, a deposit initiator shall pay 16 to any dealer or operator of a redemption center a handling fee [ of 17 three and one-half cents ] for each beverage container accepted by the 18 deposit initiator from such dealer or operator of a redemption center. 19 Payment of the handling fee shall be as compensation for collecting, 20 sorting and packaging of empty beverage containers for transport back to 21 the deposit initiator or its designee. Payment of the handling fee may 22 not be conditioned on the purchase of any goods or services, nor may 23 such payment be made out of the refund value account established pursu- 24 ant to section 27-1012 of this title. A distributor who does not initi- 25 ate deposits on a type of beverage container is considered a dealer only 26 for the purpose of receiving a handling fee from a deposit initiator. 27 The amount of the handling fee shall be as follows: 28 (a) Three cents for each redeemed container subject to an approved 29 commingling agreement; 30 (b) Three and one-half cents for each container redeemed through a 31 reverse vending machine or other process utilizing technology that 32 recognizes the universal product code to determine if the container is 33 redeemable and accumulates information regarding the number of contain- 34 ers redeemed for the purpose of invoicing deposit initiators; and 35 (c) Four and one-half cents for all other redeemed containers. 36 8. It shall be the responsibility of the deposit initiator or distrib- 37 utor to provide to a dealer or redemption center a sufficient number of 38 bags, cartons, or other suitable containers, at no cost, for the packag- 39 ing, handling and pickup of empty beverage containers that are not 40 redeemed through a reverse vending machine. The bags, cartons, or 41 containers must be provided by the deposit initiator or distributor on a 42 schedule that allows the dealer or redemption center sufficient time to 43 sort the empty beverage containers prior to pick up by the deposit 44 initiator or distributor. In addition: 45 (a) When picking up empty beverage containers, a deposit initiator or 46 distributor shall not require a dealer or redemption center to load 47 their own bags, cartons or containers onto or into the deposit initi- 48 ator's or distributor's vehicle or vehicles or provide the staff or 49 equipment needed to do so. 50 (b) [ A deposit initiator or distributor shall not require empty 51 containers to be counted at a location other than the redemption center 52 or dealer's place of business. The dealer or redemption center shall 53 have the right to be present at the count. 54 (c) ] A deposit initiator or distributor shall pick up empty beverage 55 containers from the dealer or redemption center at reasonable times and S. 7722 4 1 intervals as determined in rules or regulations promulgated by the 2 department. 3 (c) Independent of procedures adopted under an approved commingling 4 agreement under section 27-1008 of this title, a deposit initiator or 5 distributor shall have the right to conduct audits of containers 6 presented for redemption by redemption centers or dealers subject to the 7 following: 8 (i) Audits may be conducted on bags, gaylords, shells, or other recep- 9 tacles used to hold empty containers as well as the contents of a 10 reverse vending machine; 11 (ii) The deposit initiator, distributor, or their agent shall notify 12 the redemption center or dealer of the audit in writing upon completion 13 of a pickup of empty containers from the site, describing the time and 14 place of the audit and allowing the redemption center or dealer to be 15 present; 16 (iii) Bags or other receptacles to be audited shall be tagged at the 17 time of pickup and include at least ten percent of containers of a 18 particular container type and size (e.g., twelve ounce aluminum cans) to 19 be audited but in no case shall fewer than one thousand containers be 20 audited; 21 (iv) Appropriate chain of custody procedures shall be implemented; 22 (v) The audit shall separate containers eligible for refund under this 23 title from containers and materials that are ineligible as specified in 24 section 27-1009 of this title, and the number of eligible containers 25 shall be compared to the number of containers represented by the redemp- 26 tion center or dealer at the time of pickup; and 27 (vi) Results of the audit shall be retained by the distributor, depos- 28 it initiator, or agent with a copy provided to the redemption center or 29 dealer. 30 (d) It shall be a violation of this title to have more than two 31 percent ineligible containers within the audited bags, gaylords, shells 32 or other receptacles used to hold empty containers, or in the audited 33 contents of a reverse vending machine. A shortfall of greater than ten 34 percent between the number of eligible containers represented by the 35 dealer or redemption center and the actual amount determined by audit 36 shall be a violation of this title. Either violation is subject to 37 adjustment as follows: for a first violation, the distributor, deposit 38 initiator, or agent shall provide a written notice warning the dealer or 39 redemption center of the nature of the violation; for a second 40 violation, a distributor, deposit initiator, or their agent, may with- 41 hold the refund and handling fee for the fraction of the ineligible 42 containers and/or shortfall in the audited bags applied to the day's 43 pickup and provide notice to the department of a second violation; for a 44 third violation, the distributor, deposit initiator, or their agent may 45 withhold the refund and handling fee for the fraction of the ineligible 46 containers and/or shortfall in the audited bags applied to one week's 47 pickups and provide notice to the department; and for any subsequent 48 violation, the adjustment shall apply to all pickups for the month and 49 the department shall be appropriately notified. The department shall 50 consider violation records when renewing or, in the case of multiple 51 violations, withdrawing registration from a redemption center. 52 § 4. Subdivision 11 of section 27-1007 of the environmental conserva- 53 tion law is REPEALED and subdivision 12 is renumbered subdivision 11. 54 § 5. Subdivision 5 of section 27-1015 of the environmental conserva- 55 tion law, as amended by section 8 of part F of chapter 58 of the laws of 56 2013, is amended to read as follows: S. 7722 5 1 5. The department, the department of agriculture and markets, the 2 department of taxation and finance and the attorney general are hereby 3 authorized to enforce the provisions of this title and all monies 4 collected shall be deposited to the credit of the environmental 5 protection fund established pursuant to section ninety-two-s of the 6 state finance law. In addition, the provisions of section 27-1005 of 7 this title and subdivisions one, two, three, four, five[ , ] and ten [ and 8 eleven ] of section 27-1007 of this title may be enforced by a county, 9 city, town or village and the local legislative body thereof may adopt 10 local laws, ordinances or regulations consistent with this title provid- 11 ing for the enforcement of such provisions. 12 § 6. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new 13 section 27-1008 to read as follows: 14 § 27-1008. Commingling. 15 1. Groups of deposit initiators and brands that wish to form a commin- 16 gling group shall meet the following criteria: 17 (a) An agreement shall include brands that represent at least thirty- 18 five percent of sales of all beverage containers in a commingling terri- 19 tory. 20 (b) One commingling territory shall include all counties in the 21 department's regions three through nine; commingling territories may be 22 established separately in department regions one and two or they may be 23 combined. 24 (c) An agreement shall clearly define criteria for deposit initiators' 25 brands to enter into or exit an approved commingling agreement and there 26 shall not be unreasonable barriers put into place on any beverage brand 27 entering or exiting the commingling agreement. 28 (d) The agreement shall specify the manufacturers, distributors, 29 and/or third party pick-up agents acting on behalf of the parties to the 30 agreement, the brands to be included, and the sorting requirements which 31 shall not include parameters other than container material type and 32 size. 33 (e) The agreement shall specify a method for determining the number of 34 containers redeemed. Such method shall be one of the following: 35 (i) The number of containers redeemed shall be based upon a count of 36 at least ten percent of the containers presented for redemption by the 37 redemption center; 38 (ii) The number of containers redeemed shall be the number of contain- 39 ers the redemption center certifies as being presented for redemption; 40 or 41 (iii) Another method approved by the commissioner as a part of the 42 commingling agreement. 43 (f) The agreement, or a cover letter to the agreement, shall identify 44 a name, address, and telephone number for a point of contact for ques- 45 tions on this agreement and to respond to complaints that the terms of 46 the agreement are not being conformed to. 47 2. A commingling agreement shall be submitted to the commissioner 48 prior to its implementation for review and approval. 49 3. If the department believes that the parties to an approved commin- 50 gling agreement are not in conformance with the minimum criteria 51 contained in this section, the commissioner shall notify the group's 52 point of contact of the alleged non-compliance. The parties shall have 53 thirty days to correct the noncompliance or provide information demon- 54 strating that the allegation of noncompliance was in error. Continued 55 noncompliance shall be grounds to revoke the approval of a commingling 56 agreement. S. 7722 6 1 § 7. Section 27-1009 of the environmental conservation law, as amended 2 by section 4 of part F of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 27-1009. Refusal of acceptance. 5 1. A dealer or operator of a redemption center [ may ] shall refuse to 6 accept from a redeemer, and a deposit initiator or distributor [ may ] 7 shall refuse to accept from a dealer or operator of a redemption center 8 any empty beverage container which does not state thereon a refund value 9 as established by section 27-1005 and provided by section 27-1011 of 10 this title. 11 2. A dealer or operator of a redemption center [ may ] shall also refuse 12 to accept any broken bottle, corroded, crushed or dismembered container, 13 or any beverage container which contains a significant amount of foreign 14 material, as determined in rules and regulations to be promulgated by 15 the commissioner. 16 3. A dealer or operator of a redemption center and a deposit initiator 17 or distributor shall also refuse to accept for refund an empty beverage 18 container that the dealer, redemption center, deposit initiator, or 19 distributor knows or has reasonable grounds to know was purchased 20 outside of New York. 21 § 8. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 27-1011 of the environ- 22 mental conservation law, as amended by section 5 of part F of chapter 58 23 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 24 a. Every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this state 25 shall clearly indicate by permanently marking or embossing the container 26 or by printing as part of the product label the refund value of the 27 container or the letters "RV" and the words "New York" or the letters 28 "NY". 29 § 9. Subdivision 5 of section 27-1012 of the environmental conserva- 30 tion law, as amended by section 2 of part JJ of chapter 58 of the laws 31 of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 32 5. All moneys collected or received by the department of taxation and 33 finance pursuant to this title shall be deposited to the credit of the 34 comptroller with such responsible banks, banking houses or trust compa- 35 nies as may be designated by the comptroller. Such deposits shall be 36 kept separate and apart from all other moneys in the possession of the 37 comptroller. The comptroller shall require adequate security from all 38 such depositories. Of the total revenue collected, the comptroller shall 39 retain the amount determined by the commissioner of taxation and finance 40 to be necessary for refunds out of which the comptroller must pay any 41 refunds to which a deposit initiator may be entitled. After reserving 42 the amount to pay refunds, the comptroller must, by the tenth day of 43 each month, pay into the state treasury to the credit of the general 44 fund the revenue deposited under this subdivision during the preceding 45 calendar month and remaining to the comptroller's credit on the last day 46 of that preceding month; provided, however, [ that, beginning ] : 47 (a) Beginning April first, two thousand thirteen, [ nineteen million 48 dollars, ] and all fiscal years thereafter, [ twenty-three ] fifteen 49 million dollars plus all funds received from the payments due each 50 fiscal year pursuant to subdivision four of this section in excess of 51 [ the greater of ] the amount received from April first, two thousand 52 twelve through March thirty-first, two thousand thirteen [ or one hundred 53 twenty-two million two hundred thousand dollars ], shall be deposited to 54 the credit of the environmental protection fund established pursuant to 55 section ninety-two-s of the state finance law[ . ] ; and S. 7722 7 1 (b) Beginning on the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two 2 thousand twenty-five which amended this subdivision and for each of the 3 next three years, six million dollars of the payments to the state trea- 4 sury to the credit of the general fund shall instead be transferred to 5 the department. Such funds shall be used solely to establish and fund 6 support to redemption centers that operate independently from dealers in 7 rural areas as defined in subdivision seven of section four hundred 8 eighty-one of the executive law or in environmental justice communities 9 and that redeem fewer than one million beverage containers per year. 10 Such support may take the form of a supplemental handling fee, capped at 11 an additional one cent per container redeemed, or the equivalent in 12 grants as determined by the department. The department may develop poli- 13 cies and procedures for the evaluation of redemption center eligibility 14 and support. The commissioner may retain up to five percent of funds 15 transferred to cover the administrative costs of such temporary support. 16 Any unused funds at the end of each year shall be returned to the gener- 17 al fund. 18 § 10. Section 27-1013 of the environmental conservation law, as 19 amended by section 7 of part F of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, is 20 amended to read as follows: 21 § 27-1013. Redemption centers. 22 1. The commissioner is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regu- 23 lations governing (a) the circumstances in which deposit initiators, 24 dealers and distributors, individually or collectively, are required to 25 accept the return of empty beverage containers, including beverage 26 containers processed through reverse vending machines and make payment 27 therefor; (b) the sorting of the containers which a deposit initiator or 28 distributor may require of dealers and redemption centers; (c) the 29 collection of returned beverage containers by deposit initiators or 30 distributors, including the party to whom such expense is to be charged, 31 the frequency of such pick ups and the payment for refunds and handling 32 fees thereon; (d) the right of dealers to restrict or limit the number 33 of containers redeemed, the rules for redemption at the dealers' place 34 of business, and the redemption of containers from a beverage for which 35 sales have been discontinued; (e) [ to issue ] the issuance of registra- 36 tions to persons, firms or corporations which establish redemption 37 centers, subject to applicable provisions of local and state laws, at 38 which redeemers and dealers may return empty beverage containers and 39 receive payment of the refund value of such beverage containers. Such 40 registrations shall be issued at no cost. [ Should the department require 41 by regulations adopted pursuant to this paragraph that redemption 42 centers must obtain a registration as a condition of operation, any 43 redemption center in business as of March first, two thousand thirteen 44 that previously provided the department with the notification informa- 45 tion required by regulations in effect as of such date may continue to 46 operate as if the department had issued such redemption center a regis- 47 tration required by regulations adopted under this paragraph; provided, 48 however, that such redemption center shall provide the department with 49 any other information required by regulations adopted pursuant to this 50 paragraph. ] All redemption centers in operation on January first, two 51 thousand twenty-five shall be considered to have registered, and the 52 department shall develop a process for obtaining registration informa- 53 tion from such pre-existing centers within one year of the effective 54 date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-five which 55 amended this section. Redemption centers shall allow the department to 56 conduct facility inspections and shall meet all applicable requirements S. 7722 8 1 prior to registration. The registration application shall include the 2 name, address, and contact information for the redemption center, its 3 hours of operation, the types of beverage containers to be accepted, the 4 name and address of any dealer with which it has a written agreement to 5 provide redemption services under subdivision three of section 27-1007 6 of this title, for pre-existing centers the number of beverage contain- 7 ers accepted for refund in the most recently completed fiscal year, and 8 any additional information required by the commissioner. The commission- 9 er shall approve registration applications if the commissioner finds 10 that the facility will provide a convenient service for the return of 11 empty beverage containers and meets all registration and operating 12 requirements enumerated in this title. Registrations shall be renewed no 13 less frequently than every three years. The commissioner shall annually 14 publish and post on the department's website a list of registered 15 redemption centers and the total aggregate number of redeemed containers 16 handled by such centers in the prior year. All registrations are subject 17 to suspension or non-renewal for good cause shown, including but not 18 limited to unsafe practices, falsification of reports, or serious or 19 continued violation of this title. The department may, after due notice 20 and opportunity of hearing, pursuant to the provisions of section 21 71-1709 of this chapter, deny an application or revoke a registration. 22 In determining whether or not to revoke a registration the commissioner 23 shall at a minimum, take into consideration the compliance history of a 24 violator, good faith efforts of a violator to comply, any economic bene- 25 fit from noncompliance and whether the violation was procedural in 26 nature. The commissioner's determination to revoke a registration is 27 subject to review under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law 28 and rules; and (f) the operation of mobile redemption centers in order 29 to ensure that to the best extent practicable containers are not prof- 30 fered for redemption to a deposit initiator or distributor outside of 31 the geographic area where such deposit initiator sells containers and 32 initiates deposits. 33 2. The department may require a redemption center to obtain a permit, 34 [ as an alternative ] in addition to registration if such center is 35 located at the same facility or site as another solid waste management 36 facility otherwise subject to the requirements of title seven of this 37 article or the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. 38 3. No dealer or distributor, as defined in section 27-1003 of this 39 title, shall be required to obtain a permit to operate a redemption 40 center at the same location as the dealer's or distributor's place of 41 business. Operators of such redemption centers shall receive payment of 42 the refund value of each beverage container from the appropriate deposit 43 initiator or distributor as provided under section 27-1007 of this 44 title. 45 4. Each dealer and redemption center shall require any person tender- 46 ing for redemption more than two thousand five hundred containers at one 47 time to such dealer or redemption center to provide such person's name 48 and address [ and ] , the license plate of the vehicle used to transport 49 the containers, or, in the case of an agent or employee of a not-for- 50 profit corporation, a sales tax exemption certificate , and a certif- 51 ication that to the best of such person's knowledge the containers were 52 originally sold as filled beverage containers in this state and were not 53 previously redeemed . After complying with at least one of these 54 requirements, a person need not comply each subsequent time such person 55 tenders to a dealer or redemption center for redemption more than two 56 thousand five hundred beverage containers if all of the containers were S. 7722 9 1 collected at one location in this state, all proceeds of the refund 2 value benefit a nonprofit organization that has been determined by the 3 United States internal revenue service to be exempt from taxation under 4 section 501 (c) (3) of the United States internal revenue code of 1986, 5 and the person tendering the containers for redemption signs a declara- 6 tion indicating such person's name, the address of the collection point 7 and the name of the organization or organizations that will receive the 8 refund value. The dealer or redemption center redeeming the beverage 9 containers shall keep the information on file for a minimum of twelve 10 months and provide [ same ] the information to the department upon 11 request. 12 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 13 section two of this act shall take effect July 1, 2029.