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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6502
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3323
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E USE OF CERTAIN POLYSTYRENE
PRODUCTS, THE AVAILA BILITY OF SINGLE-USE STRAWS, THE
RELEASE OF CERTAIN B ALLOONS AND THE COMP OSTABLE
NATURE OF SINGLE-USE PRODUCE BAGS.
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, 2022, 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, 2023, and to prepare for the 7
termination or amendment of any contract for the purchase of such trays 8
not later than July 1, 2022. 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, 2022. For 13
purposes of this section, "expanded polystyrene" means blown 14 Raised Bill No. 6502
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polystyrene and expanded and extruded foams that are thermoplastic 15
petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by 16
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, 2023) (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
for a first violation shall be issued a warning. Any owner or operator 38
who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined two hundred 39
dollars for a second violation, five hundred dollars for a third violation 40
and one thousand dollars for a fourth or any subsequent violation. No 41
such owner or operator may be issued more than one violation per day. 42
(c) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the 43 Raised Bill No. 6502
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provision or distribution of a single-use container that is: (1) Filled and 44
sealed prior to receipt by a restaurant or caterer and that is subsequently 45
sold to a consumer, or (2) utilized by a butcher or store to contain raw 46
meat, including, but not limited to, beef, poultry, seafood or pork that is 47
sold to a consumer. 48
(d) Any local health department or health district or agent of the 49
Departments of Public Health, Consumer Protection and Energy and 50
Environmental Protection may enforce the provisions of this section. In 51
the event of enforcement by a local health department or health district, 52
one-half of any fine imposed pursuant to this section shall be remitted 53
to the municipality where such violation occurred. 54
(e) Not later than February 1, 2024, the Commissioners of Public 55
Health, Consumer Protection and Energy and Environmental Protection 56
shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 57
11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the 58
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the 59
environment, public health and consumer protection on the 60
enforcement of the provisions of this section and the need to establish a 61
hardship waiver from the provisions of this section for any restaurant 62
or caterer with a demonstrated financial hardship directly caused by the 63
provisions of this section. 64
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the 65
manufacture of single-use containers in this state or the sale of such 66
single-use containers by a person other than a restaurant or caterer. 67
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2022) (a) For purposes of this 68
section: 69
(1) "Consumer" means any person who is a business invitee of a full-70
service restaurant; 71
(2) "Single-use plastic straw" means a single-use, disposable tube 72
made predominantly of plastic derived from either petroleum or a 73
biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources, used to 74 Raised Bill No. 6502
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transfer a beverage from a container to the mouth of the person drinking 75
the beverage. "Single-use plastic straw" does not include a straw made 76
from nonplastic materials, including, but not limited to, paper, pasta, 77
sugar cane, wood, metal or bamboo. 78
(3) "Full-service restaurant" means any establishment with the 79
primary business purpose of serving food, where food may be 80
consumed on the premises, and where all of the following actions are 81
taken by an employee of the establishment: 82
(A) The consumer is escorted or assigned to an assigned eating area. 83
The employee may choose the assigned eating area or may seat the 84
consumer according to the consumer's need for accommodation or other 85
request; 86
(B) The consumer's food and beverage orders are taken after the 87
consumer is seated at the assigned seating area; 88
(C) The food and beverage orders are delivered directly to the 89
consumer; 90
(D) Any requested items associated with the consumer's food or 91
beverage order are brought to the consumer; and 92
(E) The check for payment of such food or beverage order is delivered 93
directly to the consumer at the assigned eating area. 94
(b) No owner or operator of a full-service restaurant shall provide a 95
single-use plastic straw to a consumer unless requested by the 96
consumer, except such owner or operator may provide a single-use 97
plastic straw to any person with a disability. Nothing in this section shall 98
be construed to require any such owner or operator who does not 99
otherwise provide single-use plastic straws to consumers to provide 100
consumers with such straws. 101
(c) The provisions of this section may be enforced by any municipal 102
health department or district department of health that has jurisdiction 103
over the subject full-service restaurant. The owner or operator of a full-104 Raised Bill No. 6502
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service restaurant that violates the provisions of this section shall be 105
issued a warning for the first and second violations of the provisions of 106
this section. Any such owner or operator who violates the provisions of 107
this section on a third or subsequent occasion shall be fined twenty-five 108
dollars for each day such full-service restaurant is in violation provided 109
such fines shall not exceed three hundred dollars in any year. 110
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any 111
municipality from adopting and implementing an ordinance or rule that 112
would further restrict an owner or operator of a full-service restaurant 113
from providing a single-use plastic straw to a consumer, provided no 114
such ordinance or rule shall prohibit any such owner or operator from 115
providing a single-use plastic straw to a person with a disability. 116
Sec. 4. Section 26-25c of the general statutes is repealed and the 117
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 118
(a) No person, nonprofit organization, firm or corporation, including 119
the state and its political subdivisions, shall knowingly release, organize 120
the release of or intentionally cause to be released into the atmosphere 121
[within a twenty-four-hour period ten or more] helium or other lighter-122
than-air gas balloons in the state. 123
(b) Any violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be an 124
infraction. 125
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) On or before September 1, 126
2021, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall 127
accept an application on behalf of a manufacturer of a single-use 128
produce bag for the performance of a study, at the request of said 129
commissioner, by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering 130
to determine if a compostable single-use produce bag is available for use 131
that does not adversely impact the environment, including the land, air 132
and waters of the state. Any such application shall require the 133
manufacturer of such single-use produce bag to disclose the chemical 134
constituents or composition of such bag. Upon receipt of any such 135
application, in a format as prescribed by the commissioner, the 136 Raised Bill No. 6502
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commissioner shall request the Connecticut Academy of Science and 137
Engineering to perform such study. Said academy may establish a fee 138
for the performance of such study and such fee shall be remitted by the 139
applicant to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. 140
Upon receipt of such request and such fee from the commissioner, said 141
academy shall commence such study. Such study shall, at a minimum, 142
consist of: (1) A study committee appointed by said academy to oversee 143
such study, (2) the use of an academy-selected research team with 144
expertise in matters relating to compostable single-use produce bags to 145
conduct relevant research for such study, including, but not limited to, 146
the percentage of decomposition and the length of time for such 147
decomposition, and to author a study report, and (3) study committee 148
meetings that afford the opportunity for such applicant, department 149
and interested persons to obtain information concerning the study's 150
process. The academy shall complete any such study and issue a final 151
study report for such study to the commissioner not later than January 152
15, 2022. Upon receipt of such final study report, the commissioner shall 153
review such final study report and, not later than February 1, 2022, 154
forward such final study report and any recommendations of said 155
academy for legislation concerning the use of compostable single-use 156
produce bags to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 157
having cognizance of matters relating to the environment. For the 158
purposes of this section, "single-use produce bag" means a bag provided 159
by a store, as defined in section 22a-246a of the general statutes, to 160
contain meat, seafood, loose produce or other unwrapped food items. 161
(b) Any information or materials submitted by an applicant to the 162
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or the Connecticut 163
Academy of Science and Engineering in connection with the 164
performance of the study described in subsection (a) of this section shall 165
not be subject to disclosure pursuant to chapter 14 of the general statutes 166
provided such applicant indicates to the department or academy, at the 167
time of submission, information or materials that such applicant deems 168
a trade secret or privileged in any manner. 169 Raised Bill No. 6502
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 3 January 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 26-25c
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To phase out the use of certain polystyrene trays and food containers,
prohibit the automatic distribution of single-use plastic straws at certain
eating establishments, prohibit the intentional release of certain helium
balloons and examine the compostable nature of certain single-use
produce bags. .
[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.]