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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 99
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 785
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF
POLYSTYRENE PRODUCTS .
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than July 1, 2021, 1
each school district, regional school district, regional vocational 2
technical school and constituent unit of higher education shall develop 3
a plan for discontinuing the use in such district, school or constituent 4
unit, as applicable, of trays made from expanded polystyrene. Such plan 5
shall require the district, school or constituent unit, as applicable, to 6
discontinue such use not later than July 1, 2022, and to prepare for the 7
termination or amendment of any contract for the purchase of such trays 8
not later than July 1, 2021. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 9
require the development of such plan in any school district, regional 10
school district, regional vocational technical school or constituent unit 11
of higher education that discontinues the use of such trays in such 12
school district, school or constituent unit prior to July 1, 2021. For 13
purposes of this section, "expanded polystyrene" means blown 14
polystyrene and expanded and extruded foams that are thermoplastic 15
petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by 16
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any number of techniques including, but not limited to, fusion of 17
polymer spheres, injection molding, foam molding and extrusion-blown 18
molding. 19
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) For purposes of this section: 20
(1) "Consumer" means any business invitee of a restaurant or caterer; 21
(2) "Expanded polystyrene" means blown polystyrene and expanded 22
and extruded foams that are thermoplastic petrochemical materials 23
utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by any number of 24
techniques including, but not limited to, fusion of polymer spheres, 25
injection molding, foam molding and extrusion-blown molding; 26
(3) "Single-use container" means any container made of expanded 27
polystyrene intended for the containment of food or beverage provided 28
by a restaurant or caterer to a consumer and customarily disposed of by 29
the consumer after such use; 30
(4) "Restaurant" has the same meaning as provided in subsection (b) 31
of section 19a-342 of the general statutes; and 32
(5) "Caterer" has the same meaning as "catering food service 33
establishment", as provided in section 19a-36g of the general statutes. 34
(b) (1) No owner or operator of a restaurant or catering business shall 35
provide or distribute a single-use container to a consumer. 36
(2) Any owner or operator who violates the provisions of this section 37
shall be fined two hundred fifty dollars for the first violation, five 38
hundred dollars for a second violation and one thousand dollars for a 39
third or any subsequent violation. 40
(c) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the 41
provision or distribution of a single-use container that is: (1) Filled and 42
sealed prior to receipt by a restaurant or caterer and that is subsequently 43
sold to a consumer, or (2) utilized by a butcher or store to contain raw 44
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meat, including, but not limited to, beef, poultry, seafood or pork that is 45
sold to a consumer. 46
(d) Any local health department or health district or agent of the 47
Departments of Public Health, Consumer Protection and Energy and 48
Environmental Protection may enforce the provisions of this section. In 49
the event of enforcement by a local health department or health district, 50
one-half of any fine imposed pursuant to this section shall be remitted 51
to the municipality where such violation occurred. 52
(e) Not later than February 1, 2023, the Commissioners of Public 53
Health, Consumer Protection and Energy and Environmental Protection 54
shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 55
11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the 56
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the 57
environment, public health and consumer protection on the 58
enforcement of the provisions of this section and the need to establish a 59
hardship waiver from the provisions of this section for any restaurant 60
or caterer with a demonstrated financial hardship directly caused by the 61
provisions of this section. 62
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the 63
manufacture of single-use containers in this state or the sale of such 64
single-use containers by a person other than a restaurant or caterer. 65
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To decrease the use of certain polystyrene products in the state.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]