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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6229
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING A REDUCTION OF SINGLE -USE PLASTICS
AND POLYSTYRENE WASTE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2027) (a) For purposes of this 1
section: 2
(1) "Polystyrene" means any synthetic polymer material commonly 3
used to manufacture disposable foodware; 4
(2) "Single-use plastic" means any disposable plastic product 5
intended for one-time use, including plastic cutlery, straws, stirrers, 6
splash sticks and foodware accessories; and 7
(3) "Food vendor" means any facility licensed as a food vendor 8
pursuant to chapter 417 of the general statutes, including, but not 9
limited to, restaurants, food trucks, cafeterias, and other establishments 10
engaged in the sale or distribution of prepared food and beverages. 11
(b) On and after July 1, 2027, no state or municipal agency, vendor 12
with a government contract, school, business or food vendor shall sell, 13
use, purchase or provide: 14
(1) Any single-use foodware composed in whole or in part of 15
polystyrene; 16 Substitute Bill No. 6229
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(2) Any packaging product composed of polystyrene, including, but 17
not limited to, packaging peanuts; or 18
(3) Any single-use plastic straw, plastic stirrer, splash stick or 19
foodware accessory, except that a biodegradable or compostable single-20
use plastic straw may be provided, upon request by any person, 21
including, but not limited to, any person with a disability, and shall be 22
made available at pharmacies and medical facilities. 23
(c) The Departments of Consumer Protection and Energy and 24
Environmental Protection shall develop and implement an enforcement 25
plan for the provisions of subsection (b) of this section that includes: (1) 26
Educational outreach efforts to provide guidance and resources to help 27
businesses and institutions transition to sustainable alternatives; (2) a 28
fair compliance timeline; and (3) a penalty for any first violation that 29
consists of a written warning and an attendant assistance period of time 30
to facilitate compliance with said subsection and, for any second or 31
subsequent violation, a penalty of not more than two hundred fifty 32
dollars. 33
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any municipality from 34
adopting and enforcing ordinances that impose stricter restrictions on 35
single-use plastics and polystyrene than those set forth in this section. 36
(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any packaging 37
product composed of polystyrene or containing polystyrene loose fill 38
that: (1) Is used for prepackaged food that was filled and sealed prior to 39
receipt by a retail establishment, business or food vendor; (2) is used to 40
contain or store raw or frozen meat or seafood sold from a butcher case 41
or similar retail appliance; (3) is a cooler or ice chest, provided such 42
polystyrene is fully encased in another material; or (4) is a reusable 43
polystyrene for agricultural use. 44
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) On and after January 1, 45
2027, all state and municipal buildings, including schools that are 46
required to contain drinking fountains, shall: (1) Install and maintain an 47
equivalent number of bottle-filling stations to promote the use of 48 Substitute Bill No. 6229
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reusable water bottles when a capital project is undertaken or such 49
drinking fountains are replaced; and (2) ensure that such bottle-filling 50
stations remain operational and accessible to the public. 51
(b) The Department of Administrative Services shall develop 52
guidelines for compliance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this 53
section. 54
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to 55
study the reduction in single-use plastics in the state. Such study shall 56
identify sustainable alternatives to such single-use plastics, develop 57
recommendations for improving processing infrastructure for such 58
single-use plastics, determine the best methods to support businesses, 59
municipalities and school systems in the adoption of circular economy 60
principles and determine reasonable time frames for the 61
implementation of additional reductions in single-use plastics in the 62
state. 63
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 64
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 65
one of whom has expertise in school nutrition programs and one of 66
whom has expertise in business interests in the state; 67
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 68
whom has expertise in restaurant operations in the state and one of 69
whom has expertise in hospital operations in the state; 70
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 71
Representatives who has expertise in municipal operations in the state; 72
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate who has 73
expertise in state agency operations; 74
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 75
Representatives; 76
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; and 77 Substitute Bill No. 6229
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(7) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or 78
the commissioner's designee. 79
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 80
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 81
of the General Assembly. 82
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 83
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 84
be filled by the appointing authority. 85
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 86
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 87
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 88
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 89
days after the effective date of this section. 90
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 91
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the 92
environment shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 93
(g) Not later than February 1, 2026, the task force shall submit a report 94
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 95
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the 96
environment, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the 97
general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it 98
submits such report or February 1, 2026, whichever is later. 99
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 2 January 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
ENV Joint Favorable Subst.