‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the imple-
mentation date of any approved management plan to
which a seller is subject, the seller shall collect from
each purchaser of a beverage in a beverage con-
tainer, at the time of sale, a deposit in an amount
that is not more than the refund value of the bev-
erage container.
‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION.—A deposit collected
under paragraph (1) shall be indicated on the re-
ceipt of the purchaser, if a receipt is given for the
purchase.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not
apply to a case in which a beverage in a beverage
container is sold for consumption, and is consumed,
on the premises of the seller.
‘‘(b) REFUND.—On and after the implementation
date of an approved management plan, a beverage con-
tainer return site covered by the management plan shall—
‘‘(1) accept unbroken beverage containers for
return; and
‘‘(2) pay to a person returning beverage con-
tainers an amount, in cash or in the form of a
voucher redeemable for cash on demand, that is
equal to the total of the refund values affixed to,
printed on, or embossed on, each container returned
by the person.
‘‘(c) ACCEPTABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.—A re-
turn site shall not be required to accept or pay a refund
for a beverage container under this section if, as deter-
mined by the return site, the beverage container—
‘‘(1) is contaminated or, for hygienic reasons, is
unsuitable for recycling;
‘‘(2) can be reasonably identified as a container
that was purchased outside the United States; or
‘‘(3) cannot be reasonably identified as a con-
tainer to which this subtitle applies.
‘‘SEC. 12006. REFUND VALUE.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The refund value of a beverage
container shall be the greater of—
‘‘(1) 10 cents; or
‘‘(2) an adjusted value determined under sub-
section (b).
‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENT.—The Administrator shall—
‘‘(1) adjust the amount of the refund value of
a beverage container under subsection (a) on the
date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of
this subtitle, and every 10 years thereafter, to reflect
changes during those 10-year periods in the Con-
sumer Price Index for all urban consumers published
by the Department of Labor; and
‘‘(2) round any adjustment under paragraph
(1) to the nearest 5-cent increment.
‘‘SEC. 12007. RECOVERY RATES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (b) and (c), in a case in which a brand owner
complies with each provision of this subtitle, but fails to
achieve a recovery rate of at least 80 percent for beverage
containers of the brand owner during a calendar year, the
Administrator may require that the beverage container
agency of the brand owner pay to each State an amount
equal to the difference between—
‘‘(1) the amount of deposits collected on bev-
erage containers of the brand owner that were sold
in the State; and
‘‘(2) the amount of refunds paid on those bev-
erage containers.
‘‘(b) EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN STATES.—A brand
owner that achieves a recovery rate of at least 80 percent
under a beverage container deposit program of a State
within the 2-year period beginning on the date of enact-
ment of this subtitle shall be exempt from the provisions
of this subtitle with respect to that State.
‘‘(c) REUSE RATE ADJUSTMENT.—The minimum re-
covery rate required to be achieved by a brand owner
under subsection (a) shall be reduced by 1 percentage
point for each percentage point increase in the use by the
brand owner of refillable beverage containers.
‘‘SEC. 12008. OTHER MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS.
‘‘(a) DISPUTES.—If a dispute arises under this sub-
title between, and cannot be resolved by, a beverage con-
tainer agency and a return site, the beverage container
agency or the return site shall refer the matter to binding
arbitration.
‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), each person acting under the authority of
this subtitle shall keep confidential all facts, infor-
mation, and records obtained or provided under this
subtitle.
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not
apply in a case in which public duty requires, or any
regulation promulgated by the Administrator under
this subtitle permits, the disclosure of any facts, in-
formation, or records described in that paragraph.
‘‘SEC. 12009. REPORT BY ADMINISTRATOR.
‘‘Not later than May 31, 2003, and annually there-
after, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report
that describes—
‘‘(1) the recovery rate for beverage containers
during the year covered by the report; and
‘‘(2) the extent to which beverage container col-
lection is proceeding in accordance with this subtitle.
‘‘SEC. 12010. PENALTIES.
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act—
‘‘(1) a person that violates any provision of this
subtitle (other than section 12004(f)) shall be sub-
ject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for
each violation; and
‘‘(2) a person that violates section 12004(f)
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than
$10,000 for each violation.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents for the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec.
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. Recovery rates.
‘‘Sec. 12008. Other management requirements.