Substitute Senate Bill No. 895
Public Act No. 23-76
AN ACT CONCERNING THE LABELING OF CERTAIN BEVERAGE
CONTAINERS, THE REVIEW OF MUNICIPAL PROGRAMS FUNDED
BY NIP PAYMENTS AND THE RETURN OF BEVERAGE
CONTAINERS FOR THE REDEMPTION VALUE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 22a-12 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from
passage):
(a) The council shall submit annually to the Governor an
environmental quality report, which shall set forth: (1) The status of the
major environmental categories including, but not limited to, the air, the
water and the land environment; (2) current and foreseeable trends in
the quality, management and utilization of the environment and the
effects of such trends on the social, economic and health requirements
of the state; (3) the adequacy of available natural resources for fulfilling
human and economic requirements of the state in the light of projected
population pressures; (4) a review of the programs and activities of the
state and local governments and private organizations, with particular
reference to their effect on the environment and on the conservation,
development and utilization of natural resources, including, but not
limited to, programs and measures of local governments implemented Substitute Senate Bill No. 895
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pursuant to subsection (d) of section 22a-244b; (5) a program for
remedying the deficiencies of existing programs and activities, together
with recommendations for legislation; and (6) the progress towards
achievement of the goals and objectives established in the state-wide
environmental plan.
Sec. 2. Section 22a-244 of the general statutes, as amended by section
2 of public act 21-58 and section 9 of public act 22-1 of the November
special session, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective January 1, 2024):
(a) (1) Every beverage container containing a carbonated beverage
sold or offered for sale in this state, except for any such beverage
containers sold or offered for sale for consumption on an interstate
passenger carrier, shall have a refund value. Such refund value shall not
be less than ten cents and shall be a uniform amount throughout the
distribution process in this state. (2) Every beverage container
containing a noncarbonated beverage sold or offered for sale in this state
shall have a refund value, except for beverage containers containing a
noncarbonated beverage that are (A) sold or offered for sale for
consumption on an interstate passenger carrier, or (B) that comprise any
dealer's existing inventory as of March 31, 2009. Such refund value shall
not be less than ten cents and shall be a uniform amount throughout the
distribution process in this state.
(b) Every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this state, that
has a refund value pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, shall clearly
indicate by embossing or by a stamp or by a label or other method
securely affixed to the beverage container (1) either the refund value of
the container or the words "return for deposit" or "return for refund" or
other words as approved by the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection, and (2) either the word "Connecticut" or the
abbreviation "Ct.", provided this subdivision shall not apply to glass
beverage containers permanently marked or embossed with a brand Substitute Senate Bill No. 895
Public Act No. 23-76 3 of 4
name. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any beverage
container that comprises any dealer's inventory as of December 31, 2022,
provided such beverage container was not required to have a refund
value as of such date pursuant to the provisions of section 22a-243 and
this section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the
sale or offering for sale of any beverage container that is embossed,
stamped, labeled or otherwise affixed with a refund value of five cents,
provided such beverage container comprises any dealer's or
distributor's inventory as of December 31, 2023.
(c) No person shall sell or offer for sale in this state any metal
beverage container (1) a part of which is designed to be detached in
order to open such container, or (2) that is connected to another
beverage container by a device constructed of a material which does not
decompose by photodegrada tion, chemical degradation or
biodegradation within a reasonable time after exposure to the elements.
(d) On and after January 1, 2024, each beverage container sold or
offered for sale in this state that has a refund value pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section, shall include a Universal Product Code
and barcode. Each deposit initiator shall provide such Universal
Product Code and barcode, with packaging information, to the reverse
vending machine system administrators and other system operators,
not less than thirty days prior to placement of any such beverage
container on the market.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) On and after January 1, 2024,
each distributor and dealer shall undertake efforts to educate consumers
of the ten cent redemption value for beverage containers.
(b) No person shall redeem more than two hundred forty beverage
containers at any one time at a dealer's reverse vending machine.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "distributor", "dealer", Substitute Senate Bill No. 895
Public Act No. 23-76 4 of 4
"consumer", "beverage container" and "reverse vending machine" each
have the same meaning as provided in section 22a-243 of the general
statutes.