II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1867

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to encourage greater recycling of 

certain beverage containers through the use of deposit refund incentives. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 12), 2003

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and 

Mr. AKAKA) 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 encourage greater 

recycling of certain beverage containers through the use 

of deposit refund incentives.

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 Producer Responsibility Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the beverage industry has an established 

9 and effective marketing infrastructure that provides 
2

•S 1867

1 a wide range of beverage products at affordable 

2 prices to consumers in the United States; 

3 (2) the absence of a beverage industry infra4 structure for recovering used beverage containers 

5 has—

6 (A) placed undue burdens on local waste 

7 authorities and, in turn, taxpayers; 

8 (B) failed to provide any incentive for the 

9 beverage industry to reduce waste by taking re10 sponsibility for collecting, recycling, and reusing 

11 beverage containers; and 

12 (C) resulted in tens of billions of 

13 unrecycled beverage containers per year, includ14 ing 120,000,000,000 unrecycled beverage con15 tainers in 2001; 

16 (3) 11 States have enacted laws designed to 

17 protect the environment, conserve energy and mate18 rial resources, and reduce waste by requiring—

19 (A) beverage consumers to pay a deposit 

20 on the purchase of beverage containers; and 

21 (B) the beverage industry to pay a refund 

22 on used beverage containers that are returned 

23 for reuse and recycling; 

24 (4) those laws, based on deposit systems origi25 nally devised by the beverage industry to recover 
3

•S 1867

1 used bottles, have been shown to be the most effec2 tive and sustainable means for achieving high rates 

3 of beverage container reuse and recycling, especially 

4 the increasing proportion of beverages consumed 

5 away from the home; 

6 (5) increasing exiting rates of reuse and recy7 cling of beverage containers to 80 percent would—

8 (A) save the equivalent of approximately 

9 300,000,000 barrels of oil in the next decade, 

10 in addition to the quantity of oil that is already 

11 being saved through existing recycling efforts; 

12 (B) reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 

13 more than 4,000,000 tons annually, in addition 

14 to the 4,000,000 tons of emissions already 

15 being avoided through current recycling efforts; 

16 (C) save an additional energy equivalent of 

17 25,000,000 barrels of crude oil each year, which 

18 is enough to meet the total residential energy 

19 needs of 1,500,000 households in the United 

20 States for a year; and 

21 (D) dramatically reduce, by as much as 84 

22 percent, road side litter of beverage containers 

23 in States that do not have in effect a law regu24 lating the recycling of beverage containers; 
4

•S 1867

1 (6) a beverage container reuse and recycling 

2 system designed by brand owners could—

3 (A) be seamlessly integrated with the na4 tional and regional marketing systems of the 

5 brand owners; 

6 (B) maximize recycling efficiency; and 

7 (C) minimize costs of compliance with a 

8 patchwork of State recycling programs; and 

9 (7) a national system of beverage container 

10 reuse and recycling is consistent with the intent of 

11 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 

12 seq.) and the goals established by the Administrator 

13 of the Environmental Protection Agency, including 

14 the national goal of 35 percent source reduction and 

15 recycling by 2005. 

16 SEC. 3. BEVERAGE CONTAINER REUSE AND RECYCLING. 

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

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

19 the following:

20 ‘‘Subtitle K—Beverage Container 

21 Reuse and Recycling 

22 ‘‘SEC. 12001. DEFINITIONS. 

23 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

24 ‘‘(1) BEVERAGE.—
5

•S 1867

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

2 means a nonalcoholic or alcoholic carbonated or 

3 noncarbonated liquid that is intended for 

4 human consumption. 

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

6 does not include milk or any other dairy or 

7 dairy-derived product. 

8 ‘‘(2) BEVERAGE CONTAINER.—The term ‘bev9 erage container’ means a container that—

10 ‘‘(A) is constructed primarily of metal, 

11 glass, plastic, or paper (or a combination of 

12 those materials); 

13 ‘‘(B) has a capacity of not more than 1 

14 gallon of liquid; and 

15 ‘‘(C) on or after the date of enactment of 

16 this subtitle—

17 ‘‘(i) may contain or contains a bev18 erage; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) is offered for sale or sold in 

20 interstate commerce. 

21 ‘‘(3) BRAND OWNER.—The term ‘brand owner’ 

22 means a person that manufactures or imports for re23 sale in interstate commerce a beverage sold in a bev24 erage container.
6

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘manage2 ment plan’ means a management plan submitted 

3 under section 12004. 

4 ‘‘(5) REDEMPTION RATE.—The term ‘redemp5 tion rate’ means the percentage obtained by divid6 ing—

7 ‘‘(A) the number of beverage containers of 

8 a brand owner returned for a refund under sec9 tion 12005(b)(2) in a calendar year; by 

10 ‘‘(B) the number of beverage containers of 

11 the brand owner for which a deposit was col12 lected under section 12005(a)(1) in the cal13 endar year. 

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

15 means the refund value of a beverage container de16 termined in accordance with section 12006. 

17 ‘‘(7) RETURN SITE.—The term ‘return site’ 

18 means an operation, facility, or retail store, or an 

19 association of operations, facilities, or retail stores, 

20 that—

21 ‘‘(A) is identified in an approved manage22 ment plan; and 

23 ‘‘(B) is operating under contract entered 

24 into by the return site and a brand owner to 

25 collect and redeem empty beverage containers. 
7

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(8) SELLER.—

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

3 means a person that sells a beverage in a bev4 erage container. 

5 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘seller’ in6 cludes all members of the supply chain. 

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

8 term ‘unbroken beverage container’ includes a bev9 erage container that has been opened in a manner 

10 in which the beverage container was designed to be 

11 opened. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 12002. RESPONSIBILITIES OF BRAND OWNERS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each brand owner shall imple14 ment an effective redemption, transportation, processing, 

15 marketing, and reporting system for the reuse and recy16 cling of used beverage containers of the brand owner. 

17 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF POST-REDEMPTION

18 LANDFILLING OR INCINERATION.—No brand owner or 

19 beverage container agency shall dispose of any beverage 

20 container labeled in accordance with section 12003 in any 

21 landfill or other solid waste disposal facility. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 12003. BEVERAGE CONTAINER LABELING. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No brand owner may sell or offer 

24 for sale in interstate commerce a beverage in a beverage 

25 container unless a statement of the refund value of the 
8

•S 1867

1 beverage container is clearly, prominently, and securely af2 fixed to, printed on, or embossed on the beverage con3 tainer. 

4 ‘‘(b) SIZE AND LOCATION OF REFUND VALUE

5 STATEMENT.—The Administrator shall promulgate regu6 lations establishing uniform standards for the size and ap7 propriate location on beverage containers of the refund 

8 value statement required under subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘SEC. 12004. MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

10 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, each 

12 brand owner shall submit to the Administrator—

13 ‘‘(1) a management plan, in such form as the 

14 Administrator may prescribe, for the collection, 

15 transport, reuse, and recycling of beverage con16 tainers that the brand owner sells into interstate 

17 commerce; and 

18 ‘‘(2) a fee, in such amount as the Administrator 

19 may establish by regulation, to cover administrative 

20 costs relating to administration of the management 

21 plan. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—A management plan sub23 mitted under this section shall—

24 ‘‘(1) include—
9

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(A) the name, and address for service of 

2 process, of the brand owner submitting the 

3 management plan; 

4 ‘‘(B) the name and title of a contact per5 son at the brand owner; 

6 ‘‘(C) the name and corporate address of 

7 each brand owner covered by the management 

8 plan; and 

9 ‘‘(D) the brand name of each beverage cov10 ered by the management plan; 

11 ‘‘(2) provide—

12 ‘‘(A) a proposed implementation date for 

13 the management plan; and 

14 ‘‘(B) appropriate documentation of such 

15 agreements entered into by the beverage con16 tainer agency and return site operators as will 

17 take effect as of the date of implementation of 

18 the management plan; and

19 ‘‘(3) include a description of—

20 ‘‘(A) the ways in which the beverage con21 tainer agency intends to make the use of return 

22 sites convenient for consumers of beverages cov23 ered by the management plan in all areas of 

24 interstate commerce; 
10

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(B) the ways in which the beverage con2 tainer agency intends to achieve, not later than 

3 2 years after the date of implementation of the 

4 management plan, a recovery rate of at least 80 

5 percent; and 

6 ‘‘(C) the ways in which the beverage con7 tainer agency will manage beverage containers 

8 returned under the management plan in an en9 vironmentally responsible manner. 

10 ‘‘(c) CHANGES IN INFORMATION.—Each beverage 

11 container agency that submits a management plan under 

12 this section shall promptly notify the Administrator, in 

13 writing, of any change in the information provided under 

14 subsection (b)(1). 

15 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

17 approve or disapprove each management plan sub18 mitted under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—In determining wheth20 er to approve or disapprove a management plan, the 

21 Administrator may return the management plan to 

22 the beverage container agency—

23 ‘‘(A) with a request for additional informa24 tion; or 

25 ‘‘(B) for amendment.
11

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(3) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Administrator dis2 approves a management plan, the Administrator 

3 shall, not later than 60 days after the date of dis4 approval, provide to the beverage container agency 

5 that submitted the management plan a written ex6 planation of the reasons for disapproval. 

7 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A brand owner that, on or 

9 before the date of enactment of this subtitle, is sell10 ing in interstate commerce a beverage in a beverage 

11 container, shall—

12 ‘‘(A) upon submission of the management 

13 plan, implement the management plan in ac14 cordance with the implementation date pro15 posed by the brand owner under subsection 

16 (b)(2)(A). 

17 ‘‘(B) upon approval of the management 

18 plan by the Administrator, implement the man19 agement plan as approved under subsection (d). 

20 ‘‘(2) NEW BRAND OWNERS.—A brand owner 

21 that proposes, after the date of enactment of this 

22 subtitle, to sell in interstate commerce a beverage in 

23 a beverage container shall—

24 ‘‘(A) have, as of the date on which the 

25 brand owner commences the selling of the bev-
12

•S 1867

1 erage, a management plan that has been ap2 proved by the Administrator; and 

3 ‘‘(B) implement the management plan in 

4 accordance with the implementation date pro5 posed in the management plan under subsection 

6 (b)(2)(A). 

7 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—No brand owner shall sell 

8 in interstate commerce any beverage in a beverage 

9 container—

10 ‘‘(A) except as in accordance with para11 graph (1) or (2), as appropriate; or 

12 ‘‘(B) on or after the implementation date 

13 proposed in a management plan of the brand 

14 owner under subsection (b)(2)(A), if the Admin15 istrator has not approved the management plan. 

16 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each beverage container 

18 agency the management plan of which is approved 

19 and implemented under this section shall, not later 

20 than March 31 of each year after the implementa21 tion date of the management plan, submit to the Ad22 ministrator a report that describes the effectiveness 

23 of the management plan during the preceding cal24 endar year. 
13

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—The report shall in2 clude—

3 ‘‘(A) for each type of beverage container 

4 returned, the recovery rate—

5 ‘‘(i) expressed as a percentage; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) audited by an entity independent 

7 of the brand owner; and 

8 ‘‘(B) annual financial statements, prepared 

9 by an entity independent of the beverage con10 tainer agency, of all deposits received and re11 funds paid by each brand owner subject to the 

12 management plan. 

13 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Adminis14 trator shall make available to the public the informa15 tion described in paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘SEC. 12005. DEPOSIT AND REFUND. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEPOSIT.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the imple19 mentation date of any approved management plan to 

20 which a seller is subject, the seller shall collect from 

21 each purchaser of a beverage in a beverage con22 tainer, at the time of sale, a deposit in an amount 

23 that is not more than the refund value of the bev24 erage container. 
14

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION.—A deposit collected 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be indicated on the re3 ceipt of the purchaser, if a receipt is given for the 

4 purchase. 

5 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not 

6 apply to a case in which a beverage in a beverage 

7 container is sold for consumption, and is consumed, 

8 on the premises of the seller. 

9 ‘‘(b) REFUND.—On and after the implementation 

10 date of an approved management plan, a beverage con11 tainer return site covered by the management plan shall—

12 ‘‘(1) accept unbroken beverage containers for 

13 return; and 

14 ‘‘(2) pay to a person returning beverage con15 tainers an amount, in cash or in the form of a 

16 voucher redeemable for cash on demand, that is 

17 equal to the total of the refund values affixed to, 

18 printed on, or embossed on, each container returned 

19 by the person. 

20 ‘‘(c) ACCEPTABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.—A re21 turn site shall not be required to accept or pay a refund 

22 for a beverage container under this section if, as deter23 mined by the return site, the beverage container—

24 ‘‘(1) is contaminated or, for hygienic reasons, is 

25 unsuitable for recycling;
15

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(2) can be reasonably identified as a container 

2 that was purchased outside the United States; or 

3 ‘‘(3) cannot be reasonably identified as a con4 tainer to which this subtitle applies. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 12006. REFUND VALUE. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The refund value of a beverage 

7 container shall be the greater of—

8 ‘‘(1) 10 cents; or 

9 ‘‘(2) an adjusted value determined under sub10 section (b). 

11 ‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENT.—The Administrator shall—

12 ‘‘(1) adjust the amount of the refund value of 

13 a beverage container under subsection (a) on the 

14 date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of 

15 this subtitle, and every 10 years thereafter, to reflect 

16 changes during those 10-year periods in the Con17 sumer Price Index for all urban consumers published 

18 by the Department of Labor; and 

19 ‘‘(2) round any adjustment under paragraph 

20 (1) to the nearest 5-cent increment. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 12007. REDEMPTION RATES. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub23 sections (b) and (c), in a case in which a brand owner 

24 complies with each provision of this subtitle, but fails to 

25 achieve a redemption rate of at least 80 percent for bev-
16

•S 1867

1 erage containers of the brand owner during a calendar 

2 year, the Administrator may require that the brand owner 

3 pay to each State an amount equal to the difference be4 tween—

5 ‘‘(1) the amount of deposits collected on bev6 erage containers of the brand owner that were sold 

7 in the State; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the amount of refunds paid on those bev9 erage containers. 

10 ‘‘(b) REUSE RATE ADJUSTMENT.—The minimum re11 covery rate required to be achieved by a brand owner 

12 under subsection (a) shall be reduced by 1 percentage 

13 point for each percentage point increase in the use by the 

14 brand owner of refillable beverage containers. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 12008. OTHER MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) DISPUTES.—If a dispute arises under this sub17 title between, and cannot be resolved by, a brand owner 

18 and a return site, the beverage container agency or the 

19 return site shall refer the matter to binding arbitration. 

20 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), each person acting under the authority of 

23 this subtitle shall keep confidential all facts, infor24 mation, and records obtained or provided under this 

25 subtitle. 
17

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

2 apply in a case in which public duty requires, or any 

3 regulation promulgated by the Administrator under 

4 this subtitle permits, the disclosure of any facts, in5 formation, or records described in that paragraph. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 12009. REPORT BY ADMINISTRATOR. 

7 ‘‘Not later than October 31, 2005, and annually 

8 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

9 report that describes—

10 ‘‘(1) the recovery rate for beverage containers 

11 during the year covered by the report; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the extent to which beverage container col13 lection is proceeding in accordance with this subtitle. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 12010. RETENTION OF STATE AUTHORITY. 

15 ‘‘Nothing in this subtitle prohibits any State or polit16 ical subdivision from imposing any requirement that is not 

17 inconsistent with this subtitle. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 12011. PENALTIES. 

19 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act—

20 ‘‘(1) a person that violates any provision of this 

21 subtitle (other than section 12004(f)) shall be sub22 ject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for 

23 each violation; and 
18

•S 1867

1 ‘‘(2) a person that violates section 12004(f) 

2 shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than 

3 $10,000 for each violation.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con5 tents for the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 

6 6901) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘Subtitle K—Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling 

‘‘Sec. 12001. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 12002. Responsibilities of brand owners. 

‘‘Sec. 12003. Beverage container labeling. 

‘‘Sec. 12004. Management plans. 

‘‘Sec. 12005. Deposit and refund. 

‘‘Sec. 12006. Refund value. 

‘‘Sec. 12007. Redemption rates. 

‘‘Sec. 12008. Other management requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 12009. Report by Administrator. 

‘‘Sec. 12010. Retention of State authority. 

‘‘Sec. 12011. Penalties.’’.

Æ