2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 23 - Health and Safety › Chapter 23-18.13 - Toxic Packaging Reduction Act › Section 23-18.13-5. - Exemptions.

§ 23-18.13-5. Exemptions.
(a)
All packages and packaging components shall be subject to this chapter except the following:
(1)
Those packages or packaging components with a code indicating date of manufacture that were manufactured prior to July 5, 1990; or
(2)
Those packages or packaging components to which lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium have been added in the manufacturing, forming, printing or distribution process in order to comply with health or safety requirements of federal law provided that the manufacturer of a package or packaging component must petition the department of environmental management for any exemption from the provisions of this subdivision for a particular package or packaging component based upon either criterion; and provided further that the department of environmental management may grant a two (2) year exemption if warranted by the circumstances; and provided further that this exemption may, upon meeting either criterion of this subdivision, be renewed at two (2) year intervals; or
(3)
Packages and packaging components incidental to any alcoholic beverage, as defined in § 3-1-1, which was bottled prior to October 1, 1992; or
(4)
Those packages or packaging components to which lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium have been added in the manufacturing, forming, printing, or distribution process for which there is no feasible alternative, provided that the manufacturer of a package or packaging component must petition the department for any exception from the provisions of this subdivision for a particular package or packaging component based upon the criterion; and provided further that the department may grant an exemption for up to two (2) years if warranted by the circumstances; and provided further that this exemption may, upon meeting either criterion of this subdivision, be renewed at two (2) year intervals. For purposes of this subdivision, a use for which there is no feasible alternative is one in which the regulated substance is essential to the protection, safe handling, or function of the package’s contents.
(b) Standards.
A plan, to be proposed by the manufacturer seeking the exemption of his or her designee, shall include each of the following elements:
(1)
A means of identifying in a permanent and visible manner those reusable entities containing regulated metals for which an exemption is sought;
(2)
A method of regulatory and financial accountability so that a specified percentage of reusable entities manufactured and distributed to other persons is not discarded by those persons after use, but is returned to the manufacturer or his or her designee;
(3)
A system of inventory and record maintenance to account for reusable entities placed in, and removed from, service;
(4)
A means of transforming returned entities, that are no longer reusable, into recycled materials for manufacturing or into manufacturing wastes which are subject to existing federal and/or state laws or regulations governing manufacturing wastes to ensure that these wastes do not enter the commercial or municipal waste stream; and
(5)
A system of annually reporting to the department changes to the system and changes in designees.
History of Section.
P.L. 1990, ch. 149, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 115, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 77.