2021 -- S 0106

========

LC000504

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

____________

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BEVERAGE CONTAINER DEPOSIT

RECYCLING ACT OF 2021

     Introduced By: Senators Calkin, Anderson, Acosta, Mack, Mendes, Bell, and Quezada

     Date Introduced: January 26, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 18.18

BEVERAGE CONTAINER DEPOSIT RECYCLING ACT OF 2021

     23-18.18-1. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter:

     (1) ''Beverage'' means an alcoholic beverage as defined in § 3-1-1 including, but not limited

to, beer and other malt beverages, wine, and liquor; and any nonalcoholic carbonated or

noncarbonated drinks in liquid form intended for internal human consumption including, but not

limited to, soda water or similar carbonated soft drinks, water, mineral water, dairy drinks, fruit

juices, sports drinks and energy drinks.

     (2) ''Beverage container'' means any sealable bottle, can, jar, or carton which is primarily

composed of glass, metal, plastic or any combination of those materials and is produced for the

purpose of containing a beverage. This definition shall not include containers made of

biodegradable material.

     (3) ''Bottler'' means any person filling beverage containers for sale to distributors or dealers,

including dealers who bottle or sell their own brand of beverage.

     (4) ''Consumer'' means any person who purchases a beverage in a beverage container for

use or consumption with no intent to resell such beverage.

     (5) ''Dealer'' means any person, including any operator of a vending machine, who engages

in the sale of beverages in beverage containers to consumers in this state.

     (6) ''Distributor'' means any person who engages in the sale of beverages in beverage

containers to dealers in this state including any bottler who engages in such sales.

     (7) ''Label'' means a molded imprint or raised symbol on or near the bottom of a plastic

product.

     (8) ''Plastic'' means any material made of polymeric organic compounds and additives that

can be shaped by flow.

     (9) ''Plastic bottle'' means a plastic container that has a neck that is smaller than the body

of the container, accepts a screw type, snap cap or other closure and has a capacity of sixteen fluid

ounces (16 fl. oz.) or more, but less than five gallons (5 gal.).

     (10) ''Rigid plastic container'' means any formed or molded container, other than a bottle,

intended for single use, composed predominantly of plastic resin and having a relatively inflexible

finite shape or form with a capacity of eight ounces (8 oz.) or more, but less than five gallons (5

gal.).

     (11) ''Reusable beverage container'' means any beverage container so constructed and

designed that it is structurally capable of being refilled and resold by a bottler at least ten (10) times

after its initial use.

     23-18.18-2. Refund value; Exemption.

     Every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the state shall have a refund value of

not less than ten cents ($0.10). The provisions of this section shall not apply to such containers sold

by a distributor for use by a common carrier in the conduct of interstate passenger service.

     23-18.18-3. Refund of container refund; Refusal to accept container.

     (a) Every consumer shall deposit with the dealer the refund value of each beverage

container purchased from that dealer.

     (b) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, a dealer shall accept from any

person during business hours any empty beverage container of the type, size and brand sold by the

dealer within the past sixty (60) days and shall pay that person the refund value of each beverage

container returned.

     (c) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, a distributor shall accept from any

dealer any empty beverage container of the type, size and brand sold by the distributor within the

past sixty (60) days and shall pay the dealer the refund value of the beverage container plus a

handling fee of at least four cents ($0.04) per container if the empty beverage container is presented

LC000504 - Page 2 of 8

at the time of and at the location at which the dealer obtains filled beverage containers from the

distributor.

     (d) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, a bottler shall accept from a

distributor or a dealer any empty reusable beverage container of the type, size, and brand sold by

the bottler within the past sixty (60) days and shall pay the distributor or dealer the refund value of

the reusable beverage container plus a handling fee of at least four cents ($0.04) per container if

the empty reusable beverage container is presented at the time and at the location where the

distributor or dealer obtains filled reusable beverage containers from the bottler; provided,

however, that a bottler other than a bottler of soft drinks manufacturing in this state who offers to

refund deposits in accordance with this section, shall not require a distributor to deposit with the

bottler the refund value of a beverage container which is not reusable, nor shall a bottler require of

a distributor that beverage containers which are not reusable, be presented to the bottler at the

location where the distributor obtains filled beverage containers.

     (e) Any person may establish a redemption center and shall have the right to determine

what type, size and brand of beverage container shall be accepted. Except as provided in subsection

(f) of this section, a distributor shall take from any redemption center any empty beverage container

of the type, size and brand sold by the distributor within the past sixty (60) days and shall pay the

redemption center the refund value of the container plus a handling fee of at least four cents ($0.04)

per container.

     (f) A dealer, distributor, redemption center or bottler may refuse to accept any beverage

container which contains material foreign to the normal contents of the container.

     (g) Any bottler or distributor who receives deposits and/or handling charges under this

chapter shall segregate said deposits or handling charges in a fund which shall be maintained

separately from all other revenues. Said bottler or distributor shall report on a monthly basis to the

Rhode Island resource recovery corporation and the division of revenue, the amount of said deposits

or handling charges received and the amount refunded.

     (h) Any bottler or distributor who is subject to the provisions of subsection (c), (d) or (e)

of this section shall maintain a separate account to be known as the deposit transaction fund. Said

fund shall be kept separate from all other revenues and accounts. Each bottler or distributor shall

place in said fund the refund value for all non-reusable beverage containers it sells subject to the

provisions of this chapter.

     Except as specified in subsection (d) of this section, amounts in such fund may only be

expended to pay refund values paid after January 1, 2022, for returned non-reusable beverage

containers pursuant to subsection (c), (d) or (e) of this section. Amounts in such fund shall not be

LC000504 - Page 3 of 8

used to pay the handling fees required by subsection (c), (d) or (e) of this section. Each such fund

shall be maintained by said bottlers and distributors on behalf of consumers who have purchased

refundable non-reusable beverage containers and on behalf of the state; except as specified in § 23-

18.18-6, for no purpose are amounts in such fund to be regarded as income of said bottlers or

distributors.

     (i) The obligations to accept or take empty beverage containers and to pay the refund value

and handling fees for such containers as described in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section

shall apply only to containers originally sold in this state as filled beverage containers. Any person

who tenders to a dealer, distributor, redemption center or bottler more than ten (10) cases of twenty-

four (24) empty beverage containers each, which a person knows or has reason to know were not

originally sold in this state as filled beverage containers, for the purpose of obtaining a refund value

or handling fee, shall be subject to the enforcement action and civil penalties set forth in § 23-

18.18-10. For the purpose of this section and § 23-18.18-10, the term person shall include any

individual, partnership, corporation, or other combination or entity.

     23-18.18-4. Reports by bottlers and distributors of transactions affecting deposit

transaction fund.

     Every bottler or distributor shall report to the director of the division of revenue by the

tenth day of each month, concerning transactions affecting its deposit transaction fund in the

preceding month. Such report shall be made in a form prescribed by said director and shall include

the number of non-reusable beverage containers sold and the number of non-reusable beverage

containers returned in said month, the amount of deposits received in and payments made from said

fund in said month and the most recent three (3) month period, any income earned on amounts in

the deposit transaction fund during said preceding month, the balance in said deposit transaction

fund at the close of said preceding month, and such other information as the director of revenue

may require in furtherance of the director's duties pursuant to this chapter.

     23-18.18-5. Abandoned deposit amounts; Determination and transfer.

     (a) At the end of each month, any amounts that are or should be in a bottler's or distributor's

deposit transaction fund and that are in excess of the sum of:

     (1) Interest income earned on amounts in said account during that month; and

     (2) The total amount of refund values received by said bottler or distributor for non-

reusable beverage containers during that month and the two (2) preceding months shall be deemed

to constitute abandoned deposit amounts. Income earned on said fund may be transferred from said

fund for use as funds of the bottler or distributor.

     (b) By the tenth day of each month, each bottler or distributor shall turn over to the director

LC000504 - Page 4 of 8

of the division of revenue any deposit amounts deemed to be abandoned at the close of the

preceding month, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Such amounts may be paid from the

deposit transaction fund. Amounts collected by the director of the division of revenue pursuant to

this subsection shall be deposited in the water pollution control revolving fund established by § 46-

12.2-6.

     23-18.18-6. Reimbursements to bottlers or distributors.

     If in any month the authorized payments from the deposit transaction fund by a bottler or

distributor pursuant to § 23-18.18-2 exceed the funds that are or should be in its deposit transaction

fund, the state shall reimburse said bottler or distributor, from amounts received pursuant to § 23-

18.18-5, for those refunds paid by the bottler or distributor for non-reusable beverage containers

for which the funds that are or should be in its deposit transaction fund are insufficient; provided,

however, that such reimbursements to a bottler or distributor for a month shall not exceed the excess

of:

     (1) Amounts paid by said bottler or distributor to the state pursuant to § 23-18.18-5 in the

preceding twenty-four (24) months over;

     (2) Amounts paid by this state to said bottler or distributor pursuant to this section during

said twenty-four (24) months.

     23-18.18-7. Holding or connecting devices; Break down by bacteria or light.

     No dealer shall sell or offer for sale in the state containers connected to each other by a

separate holding device constructed of plastic rings or any other device or material which cannot

be broken down by bacteria and or by light into constituent parts as provided in chapter 38 of this

title.

     23-18.18-8. Refund value; Statement on container; Vending machines.

     (a) Every beverage container, except permanently labelled reusable glass containers,

imported into, or offered for sale in the state by a bottler, distributor, or dealer shall clearly indicate

in at least eight (8) point type, by embossing or by stamp, or by label, or other method securely

affixed to any portion except the bottom of the beverage container, the refund value of the container.

A permanently labelled reusable glass beverage container first imported into, or offered for sale in

this state after the effective date of this chapter by a bottler, distributor, or dealer shall clearly

indicate in at least eight (8) point type, by embossing or by stamp, or by label, or other method

securely affixed to any portion except the bottom of the permanently labelled reusable glass

beverage container, that the container may be returned for deposit. A dealer, distributor, redemption

center, or bottler, may refuse to accept from any person any empty beverage container, except a

permanently labelled reusable glass beverage container, which does not state thereon a refund value

LC000504 - Page 5 of 8

and may refuse to accept any permanently labelled reusable glass beverage container which does

not state thereon that the container may be returned for deposit.

     (b) Every operator of a vending machine which sells beverages in beverage containers shall

post a conspicuous notice on each vending machine indicating that a refund of not less than ten

cents ($0.10) is available on each beverage container purchased and where and from whom that

refund may be obtained. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to require such

vending machine operators to provide refunds at the premises wherein such vending machines are

located.

     23-18.18-9. Administration of provisions relating to bottlers and distributors; rules

and regulations.

     (a) The director of the department of environmental management shall administer the

provisions of §§ 23-18.18-1, 23-18.18-2, 23-18.18-3(a) through (f), inclusive, 23-18.18-7, and 23-

18.18-8. Said director shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of said

sections.

     (b) The director of the division of revenue shall administer the provisions of §§ 23-18.18-

3 (g) through (i), 23-18.18-4, 23-18.18-5 and 23-18.18-6.

     The director of the division of revenue shall promulgate and from time to time revise rules

and regulations to effectuate the purposes of said sections. Said rules and regulations shall include

a provision to permit bottlers or distributors to borrow, without any interest charge, against their

deposit transaction funds subject to such terms and conditions as the director deems appropriate.

     23-18.18-10. Enforcement.

     (a) The attorney general shall enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any bottler,

distributor, redemption center or dealer who violates any provisions of this chapter or any person

who violates § 23-18.1-3 shall be subject to a civil penalty for each violation of not more than one

thousand dollars ($1,000).

     (b) Any bottler or distributor failing to make full and timely payments as required by § 23-

18.18-5 shall pay interest on any unpaid amounts at the rate of one and one-half percent (1.5%) for

each month or part thereof until payment is made in full; provided, however, that any person,

including a bottler, distributor, redemption center or dealer, who violates the provisions of § 23-

18.18-3(i) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) for each

container or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each tender of containers.

LC000504 - Page 6 of 8

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2022.

========

LC000504

========

LC000504 - Page 7 of 8

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BEVERAGE CONTAINER DEPOSIT

RECYCLING ACT OF 2021

***

     This act would create a refundable ten cent ($0.10) deposit for non-reusable beverage

containers. A four cents ($0.04) handling fee would be paid by distributors.

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2022.

========

LC000504

========

LC000504 - Page 8 of 8