II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 859

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require a refund value for certain

beverage containers, to provide resources for State pollution prevention

and recycling programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 22, 1999

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and

Public Works

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require a refund

value for certain beverage containers, to provide resources for State pollution prevention and recycling programs, 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 ‘‘National Beverage

5 Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the failure to reuse and recycle empty bev2 erage containers represents a significant and unnec3 essary waste of important national energy and mate4 rial resources;

5 (2) the littering of empty beverage containers

6 constitutes a public nuisance, safety hazard, and

7 aesthetic blight and imposes on public agencies, pri8 vate businesses, farmers, and landowners unneces9 sary costs for the collection and removal of the con10 tainers;

11 (3) solid waste resulting from the empty bev12 erage containers constitutes a significant and rapidly

13 growing proportion of municipal solid waste and in14 creases the cost and problems of effectively man15 aging the disposal of the waste;

16 (4) it is difficult for local communities to raise

17 the necessary capital to initiate comprehensive recy18 cling programs;

19 (5) the reuse and recycling of empty beverage

20 containers would help eliminate unnecessary burdens

21 on individuals, local governments, and the environ22 ment;

23 (6) several States have previously enacted and

24 implemented State laws designed to protect the envi25 ronment, conserve energy and material resources,
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1 and promote resource recovery of waste by requiring

2 a refund value on the sale of all beverage containers;

3 (7) the laws referred to in paragraph (6) have

4 proven inexpensive to administer and effective at re5 ducing financial burdens on communities by inter6 nalizing the cost of recycling and litter control to the

7 producers and consumers of beverages;

8 (8) a national system for requiring a refund

9 value on the sale of all beverage containers would

10 act as a positive incentive to individuals to clean up

11 the environment and would—

12 (A) result in a high level of reuse and recy13 cling of the containers; and

14 (B) help reduce the costs associated with

15 solid waste management;

16 (9) a national system for requiring a refund

17 value on the sale of all beverage containers would re18 sult in significant energy conservation and resource

19 recovery;

20 (10) the reuse and recycling of empty beverage

21 containers would eliminate unnecessary burdens on

22 the Federal Government, State and local govern23 ments, and the environment;

24 (11) the collection of unclaimed refunds from a

25 national system of beverage container recycling
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1 would provide the resources necessary to assist com2 prehensive reuse and recycling programs throughout

3 the United States;

4 (12) a national system of beverage container re5 cycling is consistent with the intent of the Solid

6 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.); and

7 (13) this Act is consistent with the goals estab8 lished by the Administrator of the Environmental

9 Protection Agency during January 1988 that include

10 a national goal of 25 percent source reduction and

11 recycling by 1992, coupled with a substantial slow12 ing of the projected rate of increase in waste genera13 tion by 2000.

14 SEC. 3. BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

17 the following:

18 ‘‘Subtitle K—Beverage Container

19 Recycling

20 ‘‘SEC. 12001. DEFINITIONS.

21 ‘‘In this subtitle:

22 ‘‘(1) BEVERAGE.—The term ‘beverage’ means

23 beer or other malt beverage, mineral water, soda

24 water, wine cooler, or a carbonated soft drink of any
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1 variety in liquid form intended for human consump2 tion.

3 ‘‘(2) BEVERAGE CONTAINER.—The term ‘bev4 erage container’ means a container—

5 ‘‘(A) constructed of metal, glass, or plastic

6 (or a combination of the materials);

7 ‘‘(B) having a capacity of up to 1 gallon

8 of liquid; and

9 ‘‘(C) that is or has been sealed and used

10 to contain a beverage for sale in interstate com11 merce.

12 ‘‘(3) BEVERAGE DISTRIBUTOR.—The term ‘bev13 erage distributor’ means a person who sells or offers

14 for sale in interstate commerce to beverage retailers

15 beverages in beverage containers for resale.

16 ‘‘(4) BEVERAGE RETAILER.—

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

18 retailer’ means a person who—

19 ‘‘(i) purchases from a beverage dis20 tributor beverages in beverage containers

21 for sale to a consumer; or

22 ‘‘(ii) sells or offers to sell in commerce

23 beverages in beverage containers to a con24 sumer.
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1 ‘‘(B) BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES.—

2 The Secretary shall promulgate regulations that

3 define ‘beverage retailer’ for any case in which

4 a beverage in a beverage container is sold to a

5 consumer through a beverage vending machine.

6 ‘‘(5) CONSUMER.—The term ‘consumer’ means

7 a person who purchases a beverage container for any

8 use other than resale.

9 ‘‘(6) REFUND VALUE.—The term ‘refund value’

10 means the amount specified as the refund value of

11 a beverage container under section 12002.

12 ‘‘(7) UNBROKEN BEVERAGE CONTAINER.—The

13 term ‘unbroken beverage container’ includes—

14 ‘‘(A) a beverage container opened in a

15 manner in which the container was designed to

16 be opened; and

17 ‘‘(B) a beverage container made of metal

18 or plastic that is compressed if the statement of

19 the amount of the refund value of the container

20 is still readable.

21 ‘‘(8) WINE COOLER.—The term ‘wine cooler’

22 means a drink containing less than 7 percent alcohol

23 (by volume)—

24 ‘‘(A) consisting of wine and plain, spar25 kling, or carbonated water; and
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1 ‘‘(B) containing a non-alcoholic beverage,

2 flavoring, coloring material, fruit juice, fruit ad3 junct, sugar, carbon dioxide, or preservatives

4 (or any combination thereof).

5 ‘‘SEC. 12002. REQUIRED BEVERAGE CONTAINER LABELING.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section

7 12007, no beverage distributor or beverage retailer may

8 sell or offer for sale in interstate commerce a beverage

9 in a beverage container unless there is clearly, promi10 nently, and securely affixed to, or printed on, the con11 tainer a statement of the refund value of the container

12 in the amount of 10 cents (as adjusted under subsection

13 (c)).

14 ‘‘(b) SIZE AND LOCATION OF STATEMENT.—The Ad15 ministrator shall promulgate regulations establishing uni16 form standards for the size and location of the refund

17 value statement on beverage containers.

18 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS OF REFUND VALUE.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall adjust

20 the amount of the refund value of the container

21 under subsection (a)—

22 ‘‘(A) on the date that is 10 years after the

23 date of enactment of this subtitle, to reflect

24 changes in the Consumer Price Index for all25 urban consumers published by the Department
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1 of Labor since the date of enactment of this

2 subtitle; and

3 ‘‘(B) on the date that is 10 years after the

4 initial adjustment made under paragraph (1),

5 and each 10 years thereafter, to reflect changes

6 in the Consumer Price Index for all-urban con7 sumers published by the Department of Labor

8 since the most recent adjustment.

9 ‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—The Secretary shall round

10 any adjustment under paragraph (1) to the nearest

11 5 cent increment.

12 ‘‘SEC. 12003. COLLECTION OF REFUND VALUE.

13 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION FROM RETAILERS BY DISTRIBU14 TORS.—In the case of each beverage in a beverage con15 tainer sold in interstate commerce to a beverage retailer

16 by a beverage distributor, the distributor shall collect from

17 the retailer the amount of the refund value shown on the

18 container.

19 ‘‘(b) COLLECTION FROM CONSUMERS BY RETAIL20 ERS.—In the case of each beverage in a beverage container

21 sold in interstate commerce to a consumer by a beverage

22 retailer, the retailer shall collect from the consumer the

23 amount of the refund value shown on the container.
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1 ‘‘(c) OTHER COLLECTIONS.—No person other than

2 a person described in subsection (a) or (b) may collect a

3 deposit on a beverage container.

4 ‘‘SEC. 12004. RETURN OF REFUND VALUE.

5 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT BY RETAILER.—If a person tenders

6 for refund an empty and unbroken beverage container to

7 a beverage retailer who sells (or has sold at any time dur8 ing the 90-day period ending on the date of tender) the

9 same brand of beverage in the same kind and size of con10 tainer, the retailer shall promptly pay the person the

11 amount of the refund value stated on the container.

12 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT BY DISTRIBUTOR.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person tenders for re14 fund an empty and unbroken beverage container to

15 a beverage distributor who sells (or has sold at any

16 time during the 90-day period ending on the date of

17 tender) the same brand of beverage in the same kind

18 and size of container, the distributor shall promptly

19 pay the person—

20 ‘‘(A) the amount of the refund value stated

21 on the container; plus

22 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to at least 2 cents

23 per container to help defray the cost of han24 dling.
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1 ‘‘(2) TENDERING BEVERAGE CONTAINERS TO

2 OTHER PERSONS.—This subsection shall not pre3 clude any person from tendering a beverage con4 tainer to a person other than a beverage distributor.

5 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this subtitle

7 precludes an agreement between a distributor, a re8 tailer, or other person to establish a centralized bev9 erage collection center, including a center that acts

10 as an agent of the retailer.

11 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT FOR CRUSHING OR BUN12 DLING.—Nothing in this subtitle precludes an agree13 ment between a beverage retailer, a beverage dis14 tributor, or other person for the crushing or bun15 dling (or both) of beverage containers.

16 ‘‘SEC. 12005. ACCOUNTING FOR UNCLAIMED REFUNDS AND

17 PROVISIONS FOR STATE RECYCLING FUNDS.

18 ‘‘(a) UNCLAIMED REFUNDS.—

19 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—At the end of

20 each calendar year, each beverage distributor shall

21 pay to each State an amount equal to the sum by

22 which the total refund value of all containers sold by

23 the distributor for resale in that State during the

24 year exceeds the total sum paid during that year by
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1 the distributor under section 12004(b) to persons in

2 the State.

3 ‘‘(2) USE BY STATES.—The total amount of un4 claimed refunds received by any State under this

5 section shall be available to carry out pollution pre6 vention and recycling programs in the State.

7 ‘‘(b) REFUNDS IN EXCESS OF COLLECTIONS.—If the

8 total amount of payments made by a beverage distributor

9 for any calendar year under section 12004(b) for any

10 State exceeds the total amount of the refund values of all

11 containers sold by the distributor for resale in the State,

12 the excess shall be credited against the amount otherwise

13 required to be paid by the distributor to that State under

14 subsection (a) for a subsequent calendar year, designated

15 by the beverage distributor.

16 ‘‘SEC. 12006. PROHIBITIONS ON DETACHABLE OPENINGS

17 AND POST-REDEMPTION DISPOSAL.

18 ‘‘(a) DETACHABLE OPENINGS.—No beverage dis19 tributor or beverage retailer may sell, or offer for sale,

20 in interstate commerce a beverage in a metal beverage

21 container a part of which is designed to be detached in

22 order to open the container.

23 ‘‘(b) POST-REDEMPTION DISPOSAL.—No retailer or

24 distributor or agent of a retailer or distributor may dis25 pose of any beverage container labeled pursuant to section
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1 12002 or any metal, glass, or plastic from the beverage

2 container (other than the top or other seal of the con3 tainer) in any landfill or other solid waste disposal facility.

4 ‘‘SEC. 12007. EXEMPTED STATES.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

6 ‘‘(1) EXEMPTION.—Sections 12002 through

7 12005 and sections 12008 and 12009 shall not

8 apply in any State that—

9 ‘‘(A) has adopted and implemented re10 quirements applicable to all beverage containers

11 sold in the State if the Administrator deter12 mines the requirements to be substantially simi13 lar to the requirements of sections 12002

14 through 12005 and sections 12008 and 12009;

15 or

16 ‘‘(B) demonstrates to the Administrator

17 that, for any 1-year period following the date of

18 enactment of this subtitle, the State achieved a

19 recycling or reuse rate for beverage containers

20 of at least 70 percent.

21 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF EXEMPTION.—If (fol22 lowing a determination by the Administrator under

23 paragraph (1)(B) that a State has achieved a 70

24 percent recycling or reuse rate) the Administrator

25 determines that the State has failed, for any 1-year
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1 period, to maintain at least a 70 percent recycling

2 or reuse rate of beverage containers, the Adminis3 trator shall notify the State that, on the expiration

4 of the 90-day period following the notification, sec5 tions 12002 through 12005 and sections 12008 and

6 12009 shall apply with respect to the State until a

7 subsequent determination is made under paragraph

8 (1)(A) or a demonstration is made under paragraph

9 (1)(B).

10 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF TAX.—No State or political

11 subdivision of a State that imposes a tax on the sale of

12 any beverage container may impose a tax on any amount

13 attributable to the refund value of the container.

14 ‘‘(c) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this

15 subtitle affects the authority of any State or political sub16 division of a State—

17 ‘‘(1) to enact or enforce (or continue in effect)

18 any law concerning a refund value on containers

19 other than beverage containers; or

20 ‘‘(2) to regulate redemption and other centers

21 that purchase empty beverage containers from bev22 erage retailers, consumers, or other persons.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 12008. PENALTIES.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person who violates section

3 12002, 12003, 12004, or 12006 shall be subject to a civil

4 penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation.

5 ‘‘(b) ACCOUNTING FOR UNCLAIMED REFUNDS AND

6 PROVISIONS FOR STATE RECYCLING FUNDS.—A person

7 who violates section 12005 shall be subject to a civil pen8 alty of not more than $10,000 for each violation.

9 ‘‘SEC. 12009. REGULATIONS.

10 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

11 of this subtitle, the Administrator shall promulgate regula12 tions to carry out this subtitle.

13 ‘‘SEC. 12010. EFFECTIVE DATE.

14 ‘‘Except as provided in section 12009, this subtitle

15 takes effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of

16 enactment of this subtitle.’’.

17 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

18 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘Subtitle K—Beverage Container Recycling

‘‘Sec. 12001. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 12002. Required beverage container labeling.

‘‘Sec. 12003. Collection of refund value.

‘‘Sec. 12004. Return of refund value.

‘‘Sec. 12005. Accounting for unclaimed refunds and provisions for State recycling funds.

‘‘Sec. 12006. Prohibitions on detachable openings and post-redemption disposal.

‘‘Sec. 12007. Exempted States.

‘‘Sec. 12008. Penalties.
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‘‘Sec. 12009. Regulations.

‘‘Sec. 12010. Effective date.’’.

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