I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5210
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require implementation by brand
owners of management plans that provide refund values for certain
beverage containers.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 24, 2002
Ms. RIVERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require implemen-
tation by brand owners of management plans that pro-
vide refund values for certain beverage containers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Beverage
Producer Responsibility Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the beverage industry has an established
and effective marketing infrastructure that provides
a wide range of beverage products at affordable
prices to consumers in the United States;
(2) the absence of a beverage industry infra-
structure for recovering used beverage containers
has—
(A) placed undue burdens on local waste
authorities;
(B) failed to provide any incentive for the
beverage industry to reduce waste; and
(C) 
resulted 
in 
tens 
of 
billions 
of
unrecycled beverage containers per year, includ-
ing 114,000,000,000 unrecycled beverage con-
tainers in 1999;
(3) of particular concern—
(A) glass beverage containers are difficult
and 
costly 
to 
recycle 
through 
municipal
curbside programs because of breakage;
(B) valuable beverage container types are
being replaced with low-value plastics and com-
posite packaging; and
(C) removing glass or other valuable bev-
erage container types from curbside programs
has been found to reduce the public costs of
those programs;
(4) an efficient, industry-operated system of
beverage container collection, recycling, and reuse
would—
(A) reduce the overall burden placed on
taxpayers and municipal waste management
systems; and
(B) shift the responsibility for that collec-
tion, recycling, and reuse to beverage producers
and consumers;
(5) deposit systems, originally devised by the
beverage industry to recover used bottles, have been
shown to be an effective and sustainable means for
recovering used beverage containers, especially the
increasing proportion of beverage containers the bev-
erages contained by which are consumed away from
the home;
(6) greater reuse and recycling of beverage con-
tainers would—
(A) significantly improve the energy and
emissions performance of the beverage industry
of the United States; and
(B) in each year, conserve an amount of
electrical energy equivalent to that required to
serve millions of homes in the United States;
(7) 10 States have enacted and implemented
laws designed to protect the environment, conserve
energy and material resources, and reduce waste by
requiring—
(A) beverage consumers to pay a deposit
on the purchase of beverage containers; and
(B) the beverage industry to pay a refund
on used beverage containers that are returned
for reuse and recycling;
(8) those laws—
(A) enjoy strong public support; and
(B) have proven to be effective in achieving
high rates of beverage container reuse and recy-
cling;
(9) a national standard for beverage container
reuse and recycling would ensure that beverage con-
sumers in all regions of the United States would
enjoy access to beverage container reuse and recy-
cling services;
(10) a beverage container reuse and recycling
system designed by brand owners could—
(A) be seamlessly integrated with the na-
tional and regional marketing systems of the
brand owners;
(B) maximize efficiency of the brand own-
ers; and
(C) minimize unproductive costs of compli-
ance with requirements of several different re-
cycling programs;
(11) a national system of beverage container
reuse and recycling is consistent with the intent of
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et
seq.); and
(12) this Act is consistent with the goals estab-
lished by the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, including the national goal of 35
percent source reduction and recycling by 2005.
SEC. 3. BEVERAGE CONTAINER REUSE AND RECYCLING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘Subtitle K—Beverage Container
Reuse and Recycling
‘‘SEC. 12001. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this subtitle:
‘‘(1) BEVERAGE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘beverage’
means a nonalcoholic or alcoholic carbonated or
noncarbonated liquid that is intended for
human consumption.
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘beverage’
does not include milk or any other dairy or
dairy-derived product.
‘‘(2) BEVERAGE CONTAINER.—The term ‘bev-
erage container’ means a container that—
‘‘(A) is constructed primarily of metal,
glass, plastic, or paper (or a combination of
those materials);
‘‘(B) has a capacity of not more than 1
gallon of liquid; and
‘‘(C) on or after the date of enactment of
this subtitle—
‘‘(i) may contain or contains a bev-
erage; and
‘‘(ii) is offered for sale or sold in
interstate commerce.
‘‘(3) BEVERAGE
CONTAINER
AGENCY.—The
term ‘beverage container agency’ means, as deter-
mined by a brand owner—
‘‘(A) the brand owner; or
‘‘(B) an entity appointed by the brand
owner to act as an agent on behalf of the brand
owner.
‘‘(4) BRAND OWNER.—The term ‘brand owner’
means a person that owns the trademark for, manu-
factures, distributes, or imports for resale in inter-
state commerce, a beverage sold in a beverage con-
tainer.
‘‘(5) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘manage-
ment plan’ means a management plan submitted
under section 12004.
‘‘(6) RECOVERY
RATE.—The term ‘recovery
rate’ means the percentage obtained by dividing—
‘‘(A) the number of beverage containers of
a brand owner returned for a refund under sec-
tion 12005(b)(2) in a calendar year; by
‘‘(B) the number of beverage containers of
the brand owner for which a deposit was col-
lected under section 12005(a)(1) in the cal-
endar year.
‘‘(7) REFUND VALUE.—The term ‘refund value’
means the refund value of a beverage container de-
termined in accordance with section 12006.
‘‘(8) RETURN
SITE.—The term ‘return site’
means an operation, facility, or retail store, or an
association of operations, facilities, or retail stores,
that—
‘‘(A) is identified in an approved manage-
ment plan; and
‘‘(B) is operating under contract entered
into by the return site and a beverage container
agency to collect and redeem empty beverage
containers of 1 or more brand owners.
‘‘(9) SELLER.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘seller’
means a person that sells a beverage in a bev-
erage container.
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘seller’ in-
cludes all members of the supply chain.
‘‘(10) UNBROKEN BEVERAGE CONTAINER.—The
term ‘unbroken beverage container’ includes a bev-
erage container that has been opened in a manner
in which the beverage container was designed to be
opened.
‘‘SEC. 12002. RESPONSIBILITIES OF BRAND OWNERS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each brand owner shall imple-
ment an effective redemption, transportation, processing,
marketing, and reporting system for the reuse and recy-
cling of used beverage containers of the brand owner.
‘‘(b) 
PROHIBITION
OF
POST-REDEMPTION
LANDFILLING OR INCINERATION.—No brand owner or
beverage container agency shall dispose of any beverage
container labeled in accordance with section 12003 in any
landfill or other solid waste disposal facility.
‘‘SEC. 12003. BEVERAGE CONTAINER LABELING.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No brand owner may sell or offer
for sale in interstate commerce a beverage in a beverage
container unless a statement of the refund value of the
beverage container is clearly, prominently, and securely af-
fixed to, printed on, or embossed on the beverage con-
tainer.
‘‘(b) SIZE
AND
LOCATION
OF
REFUND
VALUE
STATEMENT.—The Administrator shall promulgate regu-
lations establishing uniform standards for the size and ap-
propriate location on beverage containers of the refund
value statement required under subsection (a).
‘‘SEC. 12004. MANAGEMENT PLANS.
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, each bev-
erage 
container 
agency 
shall 
submit 
to 
the
Administrator—
‘‘(1) a management plan, in such form as the
Administrator may prescribe, for the collection,
transport, reuse, and recycling of beverage con-
tainers that the beverage container agency, or that
each brand owner represented by the beverage con-
tainer agency, sells into interstate commerce; and
‘‘(3) include a description of—
‘‘(A) the ways in which the beverage con-
tainer agency intends to make the use of return
sites convenient for consumers of beverages cov-
ered by the management plan in all areas of
interstate commerce;
‘‘(B) the ways in which the beverage con-
tainer agency intends to achieve, not later than
2 years after the date of implementation of the
management plan, a recovery rate of at least 80
percent; and
‘‘(C) the ways in which the beverage con-
tainer agency will manage beverage containers
returned under the management plan in an en-
vironmentally responsible manner.
‘‘(c) CHANGES
IN INFORMATION.—Each beverage
container agency that submits a management plan under
this section shall promptly notify the Administrator, in
writing, of any change in the information provided under
subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall
approve or disapprove each management plan sub-
mitted under this section.
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—In determining wheth-
er to approve or disapprove a management plan, the
Administrator may return the management plan to
the beverage container agency—
‘‘(A) with a request for additional informa-
tion; or
‘‘(B) for amendment.
‘‘(3) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Administrator dis-
approves a management plan, the Administrator
shall, not later than 60 days after the date of dis-
approval, provide to the beverage container agency
that submitted the management plan a written ex-
planation of the reasons for disapproval.
‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A brand owner that, on or
before the date of enactment of this subtitle, is sell-
ing in interstate commerce a beverage in a beverage
container, shall—
‘‘(A) not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this subtitle, have in effect a
management plan that has been approved by
the Administrator; and
‘‘(B) implement the management plan in
accordance with the implementation date pro-
posed in the management plan under subsection
(b)(2)(A).
‘‘(2) NEW
BRAND
OWNERS.—A brand owner
that proposes, after the date of enactment of this
subtitle, to sell in interstate commerce a beverage in
a beverage container shall—
‘‘(A) have, as of the date on which the
brand owner commences the selling of the bev-
erage, a management plan that has been ap-
proved by the Administrator; and
‘‘(B) implement the management plan in
accordance with the implementation date pro-
posed in the management plan under subsection
(b)(2)(A).
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—No brand owner shall sell
in interstate commerce any beverage in a beverage
container—
‘‘(A) except as in accordance with para-
graph (1) or (2), as appropriate; or
‘‘(B) on or after the implementation date
proposed in a management plan of the brand
owner under subsection (b)(2)(A), if the Admin-
istrator has not approved the management plan.
‘‘(f) REPORT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each beverage container
agency the management plan of which is approved
and implemented under this section shall, not later
than March 31 of each year after the implementa-
tion date of the management plan, submit to the Ad-
ministrator a report that describes the effectiveness
of the management plan during the preceding cal-
endar year.
‘‘(2) 
INFORMATION.—The 
report 
shall
include—
‘‘(A) for each type of beverage container
returned, the recovery rate—
‘‘(i) expressed as a percentage; and
‘‘(ii) audited by an entity independent
of the beverage container agency; and
‘‘(B) annual financial statements, prepared
by an entity independent of the beverage con-
tainer agency, of all deposits received and re-
funds paid by each brand owner subject to the
management plan.
‘‘(3) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The Adminis-
trator may make available to the public the informa-
tion described in paragraph (2).
‘‘SEC. 12005. DEPOSIT AND REFUND.
‘‘(a) DEPOSIT.—