II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4186 

To eliminate toxic substances in beverage containers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2024 

Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To eliminate toxic substances in beverage containers, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Banning Toxics from 

5 Plastic Bottles Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) BEVERAGE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘beverage’’ 

3 means any drinkable liquid intended for human 

4 oral consumption, including— 

5 (i) water; 

6 (ii) flavored water; 

7 (iii) soda water; 

8 (iv) mineral water; 

9 (v) beer; 

10 (vi) a malt beverage; 

11 (vii) a carbonated soft drink; 

12 (viii) liquor; 

13 (ix) tea; 

14 (x) coffee; 

15 (xi) hard cider; 

16 (xii) fruit juice; 

17 (xiii) an energy or sports drink; 

18 (xiv) coconut water; 

19 (xv) wine; 

20 (xvi) a yogurt drink; 

21 (xvii) a probiotic drink; 

22 (xviii) a wine cooler; and 

23 (xix) any other beverage determined 

24 to be appropriate by the Administrator. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘beverage’’ 

2 does not include— 

3 (i) a drug regulated under the Federal 

4 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

5 301 et seq.); 

6 (ii) infant formula; or 

7 (iii) a meal replacement liquid. 

8 (3) BEVERAGE CONTAINER.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘beverage 

10 container’’ means a prepackaged container 

11 that— 

12 (i) is designed to hold a beverage; 

13 (ii) is made of any material, including 

14 glass, plastic, and metal; and 

15 (iii) has a volume of not more than 3 

16 liters. 

17 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘beverage 

18 container’’ does not include— 

19 (i) a carton; or 

20 (ii) aseptic packaging, such as a drink 

21 box. 

22 (4) BRAND.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘brand’’ 

24 means any mark, word, name, symbol, design, 

25 device, or graphic element that— 


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1 (i) identifies a product; and 

2 (ii) distinguishes the product from 

3 other products. 

4 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘brand’’ in5 cludes— 

6 (i) any combination of 2 or more 

7 marks, words, names, symbols, designs, de8 vices, or graphic elements described in sub9 paragraph (A); and 

10 (ii) any registered or unregistered 

11 trademark. 

12 (5) PLASTIC.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘plastic’’ 

14 means a synthetic or semisynthetic material 

15 that is— 

16 (i) synthesized by the polymerization 

17 of organic substances; and 

18 (ii) capable of being shaped into var19 ious rigid and flexible forms. 

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘plastic’’ in21 cludes any coating or adhesive described in sub22 paragraph (A). 

23 (6) PRODUCT LINE.—The term ‘‘product line’’ 

24 means a group of related products marketed under 

25 a single brand name that— 


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1 (A) is sold, offered for sale, or distributed 

2 by a distributor in the United States, including 

3 through an internet transaction; and 

4 (B) is used by the distributor for the pur5 pose of distinguishing those products from 

6 other, similar products for better usability for 

7 consumers. 

8 (7) RETAILER.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘retailer’’ 

10 means an entity located in the United States 

11 that— 

12 (i) engages in the sale of beverage 

13 containers to a consumer; or 

14 (ii) provides beverage containers to an 

15 individual or entity in commerce, including 

16 provision free of charge, such as at a work17 place or event. 

18 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘retailer’’ in19 cludes an entity located in the United States 

20 that engages in the sale of, or provides, bev21 erage containers as described in subparagraph 

22 (A) through a vending machine or similar 

23 means. 

24 (8) SINGLE-USE.—The term ‘‘single-use’’, with 

25 respect to a beverage container, means that the bevVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4186.IS S4186

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1 erage container is routinely disposed of, recycled, or 

2 otherwise discarded after 1 use. 

3 (9) TOXIC SUBSTANCE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘toxic sub5 stance’’ means any substance, mixture, or com6 pound that— 

7 (i) may cause— 

8 (I) personal injury or disease to 

9 humans through ingestion, inhalation, 

10 or absorption through any body sur11 face; or 

12 (II) adverse impacts on the envi13 ronment; and 

14 (ii) satisfies 1 or more of the condi15 tions described in subparagraph (B). 

16 (B) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred 

17 to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are the following: 

18 (i) The substance, mixture, or com19 pound is subject to reporting requirements 

20 under— 

21 (I) the Emergency Planning and 

22 Community Right-To-Know Act of 

23 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.); 

24 (II) the Comprehensive Environ25 mental Response, Compensation, and 


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1 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 

2 et seq.); or 

3 (III) section 112(r) of the Clean 

4 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)). 

5 (ii) The National Institute for Occu6 pational Safety and Health, the Occupa7 tional Safety and Health Administration, 

8 the National Toxicology Program, the Cen9 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, 

10 the Administrator of Health and Human 

11 Services, the National Institute for Envi12 ronmental Health Sciences, or the Envi13 ronmental Protection Agency has estab14 lished that the substance, mixture, or com15 pound poses an acute or chronic health 

16 hazard, including developmental, reproduc17 tive, or endocrine effects. 

18 (iii) The National Institute for Occu19 pational Safety and Health or the Environ20 mental Protection Agency has recognized 

21 that the substance, mixture, or compound 

22 may increase the risk of developing a la23 tent disease. 

24 (iv) The substance, mixture, or com25 pound is— 


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1 (I) a perfluoroalkyl or 

2 polyfluoroalkyl substance; 

3 (II) an orthophthalate; 

4 (III) a bisphenol compound (but 

5 not including an alkyl-substituted 

6 bisphenol compound generated 

7 through a xylenol-aldehyde process); 

8 (IV) a halogenated or nanoscale 

9 flame-retardant chemical; 

10 (V) UV 328 (2-(2H-benzotriazol11 2-yl)-4,6-di-tert-pentylphenol); 

12 (VI) a chlorinated paraffin; 

13 (VII) listed as a persistent or14 ganic pollutant by the Stockholm Con15 vention on Persistent Organic Pollut16 ants; 

17 (VIII) given an overall carcino18 genicity evaluation of Group 1, Group 

19 2A, or Group 2B by the International 

20 Agency for Research on Cancer; or 

21 (IX) listed as a toxic, poisonous, 

22 explosive, corrosive, flammable, 

23 ecotoxic, or infectious waste by the 

24 Basel Convention on the Control of 

25 Transboundary Movements of HazVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4186.IS S4186

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1 ardous Wastes and Their Disposal, 

2 done at Basel, Switzerland, March 22, 

3 1989. 

4 (v) The substance, mixture, or com5 pound is a chemical or chemical class that, 

6 as determined by the Administrator, has 

7 been identified by a Federal agency, State 

8 agency, or international intergovernmental 

9 agency as being 1 or more of the following: 

10 (I) A carcinogen, mutagen, repro11 ductive toxicant, immunotoxicant, 

12 neurotoxicant, or endocrine disruptor. 

13 (II) A persistent bioaccumulative. 

14 (III) A chemical or chemical class 

15 that may— 

16 (aa) harm the normal devel17 opment of a fetus or child or 

18 cause other developmental tox19 icity in humans or wildlife; 

20 (bb) harm organs or cause 

21 other systemic toxicity; or 

22 (cc) have an adverse impact 

23 on— 

24 (AA) air quality; 

25 (BB) ecology; 


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1 (CC) soil quality; or 

2 (DD) water quality. 

3 (IV) A chemical or chemical class 

4 that has toxicity equivalent to the tox5 icity reflected in a criterion described 

6 in any of subclauses (I) through (III). 

7 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN BEVERAGE 

8 CONTAINERS. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION.—Effective beginning on the date 

10 that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 no retailer may sell, offer for sale, or distribute any single12 use beverage container that— 

13 (1) is composed wholly or partially of poly14 ethylene terephthalate glycol; 

15 (2) is opaque or pigmented a color other than 

16 transparent blue or transparent green; 

17 (3) contains polyethylene glycol; or 

18 (4) contains a toxic substance. 

19 (b) PENALTY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A retailer that violates a 

21 prohibition under subsection (a) shall be subject to 

22 a fine for each violation. 

23 (2) TREATMENT OF PRODUCT LINES.—For pur24 poses of this section, each product line of beverage 

25 containers shall be considered to be a separate violaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4186.IS S4186

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1 tion of this section if any beverage container in2 cluded in the product line is a beverage container de3 scribed in subsection (a). 

4 (3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a fine 

5 under this subsection shall be not more than 

6 $50,000 per violation. 

7 (4) DEPOSITS.—Fines collected under this sub8 section shall be deposited into the Local Clean Up 

9 of Plastics Fund established by section 4(a). 

10 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SOLID 

11 WASTE AND WATER SYSTEM INFRASTRUC12 TURE IMPROVEMENTS. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab14 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be 

15 known as the ‘‘Local Clean Up of Plastics Fund’’. 

16 (b) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 

17 available to the Administrator, without further appropria18 tion or fiscal year limitation, to make competitively award19 ed grants to units of local government for projects to make 

20 improvements to solid waste infrastructure, water system 

21 infrastructure, recycling facilities, and composting facili22 ties, for the purpose of increasing the rate of diversion 

23 of waste from landfills or complying with environmental 

24 regulations relating to such infrastructure or facilities, in25 cluding— 


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1 (1) the remediation of toxic substances; 

2 (2) improving water filtration; 

3 (3) replacing broken infrastructure; 

4 (4) expanding infrastructure; and 

5 (5) educational programming relating to such 

6 infrastructure or facilities. 

7 (c) PRIORITY.—In making grants under subsection 

8 (b), the Administrator shall give priority to projects that 

9 would serve— 

10 (1) a rural area (as defined in section 203(b) 

11 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 

12 924(b))); or 

13 (2) an underserved community, as determined 

14 by the Administrator. 

Æ 


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