PRINTER'S NO. 659
No. 581 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY BATTISTO, BUNT, SHOWERS, NOYE, JAROLIN, HERMAN,
AFFLERBACH, GREENWOOD, HERSHEY, J. L. WRIGHT, SIRIANNI,
BARLEY, PRESTON, COY, MORRIS, MAIALE, HOWLETT, BELARDI,
E. Z. TAYLOR, JOHNSON, DONATUCCI, BROUJOS, SCHEETZ, DIETZ,
HALUSKA AND BOWLEY, APRIL 15, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, APRIL 15, 1985
AN ACT
1 Providing for returnable beverage containers; promoting
2 recycling of beverage containers; requiring a refund for
3 beverage containers; creating a temporary commission; making
4 an appropriation; and providing penalties.
5 TABLE OF CONTENTS
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 Section 2. Legislative intent.
8 Section 3. Definitions.
9 Section 4. Refund value.
10 Section 5. Mandatory acceptance.
11 Section 6. Refusal of acceptance.
12 Section 7. Beverage container requirements.
13 Section 8. Beverage container restrictions.
14 Section 9. Redemption centers.
15 Section 10. Recordkeeping requirements.
16 Section 11. Educational information.
17 Section 12. Enforcement.
1 Section 13. Penalties.
2 Section 14. Temporary commission created.
3 Section 15. Powers and duties of commission.
4 Section 16. Employment of personnel.
5 Section 17. Severability.
6 Section 18. Effective date.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Short title.
10 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Returnable
11 Container and Beverage Container Recycling Act.
12 Section 2. Legislative intent.
13 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
14 (1) Litter composed of discarded beverage containers is
15 a growing problem of concern and a direct threat to the
16 health and safety of the citizens of this Commonwealth.
17 (2) Discarded beverage containers create a hazard to
18 vehicular traffic, a source of physical injury to
19 pedestrians, farm animals and machinery and an unsightly
20 accumulation of litter which must be disposed of at
21 increasing public expense.
22 (3) Beverage containers create an unnecessary addition
23 to the already overburdened solid waste and refuse disposal
24 systems of the Commonwealth and of the various
25 municipalities.
26 (4) Unsegregated disposal of such bottles and cans
27 creates an impediment to the efficient operation of resource
28 recovery plants.
29 (5) The uninhibited discarding of beverage containers
30 constitutes a waste of both mineral and energy resources.
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1 (6) Requiring a deposit on all beverage containers,
2 along with certain other facilitating measures, will provide
3 a necessary incentive for the economically efficient and
4 environmentally benign collection and recycling of
5 containers.
6 Section 3. Definitions.
7 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
8 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
9 context clearly indicates otherwise:
10 "Beverage." Includes carbonated soft drinks, mineral water,
11 soda water, beer and other malt beverages.
12 "Beverage container." The individual, separate, sealed
13 glass, metal, aluminum, steel or plastic bottle, can or jar used
14 for containing one gallon or 3.8 liters or less, at the time of
15 sale, of a beverage intended for use or consumption in this
16 Commonwealth. Beverage containers sold or distributed aboard
17 aircraft shall be considered as intended for use or consumption
18 outside this Commonwealth.
19 "Commission." The Commission on Returnable Beverage
20 Containers.
21 "Dealer." Every person, firm or corporation who engages in
22 the sale of beverages in beverage containers to a consumer for
23 off-premises consumption in this Commonwealth.
24 "Department." The Department of Agriculture of the
25 Commonwealth.
26 "Distributor." Any person, firm or corporation which
27 bottles, cans or otherwise fills or packages beverage
28 containers, or which engages in the sale of such containers to a
29 dealer.
30 "Place of business." The location at which a dealer sells or
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1 offers for sale beverages in beverage containers to consumers.
2 "Redeemer." Every person who demands the refund value
3 provided for in this act in exchange for the empty beverage
4 container. The term shall not include a dealer as defined in
5 this section.
6 "Redemption center." Any establishment offering to pay the
7 refund value of a beverage container.
8 Section 4. Refund value.
9 Every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this
10 Commonwealth shall have a refund value of 5¢, which shall be
11 clearly marked and indicated on the containers.
12 Section 5. Mandatory acceptance.
13 (a) Dealers.--A dealer shall accept at his place of
14 business, from a redeemer, any empty beverage containers of the
15 design, shape, size, color, composition and brand sold by the
16 dealer and shall pay to the redeemer the refund value of each
17 beverage container.
18 (b) Distributors.--A distributor shall accept from a dealer
19 or operator of a redemption center any empty beverage containers
20 of the design, shape, size, color, composition and brand sold by
21 the distributor and shall pay the dealer or operator of a
22 redemption center the refund value of each beverage container.
23 (c) Manufacturer's duty.--A beverage manufacturer shall
24 accept from a distributor any refillable beverage container of
25 the kind, size and brand sold by the beverage manufacturer and
26 shall pay to the distributor the refund value of the beverage
27 container. The beverage manufacturer shall also pay a handling
28 fee of at least 2¢ per container for each refillable beverage
29 container returned to it for redemption by a distributor.
30 (d) Continued redemption.--A dealer or distributor who
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1 discontinues the sale of a beverage container of a particular
2 kind, size and brand must redeem such beverage container for a
3 period of at least 90 days following the date of discontinuance
4 of sale.
5 (e) Reimbursement.--In addition to the refund value of a
6 beverage container, a distributor, as part of its agreement with
7 any dealer or operator of a redemption center, shall reimburse
8 such dealer or operator 2¢ for each beverage container accepted
9 by the distributor from the dealer or operator. The payment of
10 refunds and handling fees shall be made promptly by the
11 distributor.
12 Section 6. Refusal of acceptance.
13 (a) Refund value not stated.--A dealer or operator of a
14 redemption center may refuse to accept from a redeemer, and a
15 distributor may refuse to accept from a dealer or operator of a
16 redemption center, any empty beverage container which does not
17 state thereon a refund value.
18 (b) Foreign material.--A dealer or operator of a redemption
19 center may also refuse to accept any broken bottle, corroded or
20 dismembered can, or any beverage container which contains a
21 significant amount of foreign material.
22 Section 7. Beverage container requirements.
23 (a) Refund value.--Every beverage container sold or offered
24 for sale in this Commonwealth by a manufacturer, distributor or
25 dealer shall have clearly indicated, by embossing or by a stamp
26 or by a label securely affixed to the beverage container, or
27 other method, the refund value of the container.
28 (b) Exclusion.--Subsection (a) and section 6(a) shall not
29 apply to glass beverage containers which, on the effective date
30 of this act, had a refund value of not less than 5¢.
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1 Section 8. Beverage container restrictions.
2 No beverage container shall be sold or offered for sale in
3 this Commonwealth in a metal container designed or constructed
4 so that part of the container is detachable in opening the
5 container. No distributor or dealer shall sell or offer for
6 sale, at wholesale or retail, beverages packaged by means of
7 plastic loop retainers or like retainers of any other material.
8 Section 9. Redemption centers.
9 To facilitate the return of beverage containers, any person
10 may establish a redemption center and shall have the right to
11 determine the kind, size and brand of beverage container it
12 shall accept. A redemption center may be established to redeem
13 beverage containers from all persons or certain specified
14 dealers. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations
15 regarding the establishment of redemption centers.
16 Section 10. Recordkeeping requirements.
17 A distributor or beverage manufacturer who initiates a refund
18 value on a beverage container sold in Pennsylvania shall
19 maintain records of all refund values initiated, returned, and
20 kept and all handling fees paid out. The distributor shall also
21 maintain records of the manner in which it disposes of redeemed
22 nonrefillable beverage containers. Specifically, because the
23 department wants nonrefillable beverage containers to be
24 recycled by the distributor, the distributor must maintain
25 accurate records of the number of beverage containers sent to
26 each recycling firm. As long as a distributor recycles redeemed
27 nonrefillable beverage containers, all refund values initiated
28 but not returned to a dealer shall be retained by the
29 distributor. If records indicate that a distributor is not
30 recycling any number of beverage containers, the department has
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1 the authority to require a distributor to remit to the
2 department 5¢ for each beverage container not recycled. Records
3 required under this section shall be made available to the
4 department upon request.
5 Section 11. Educational information.
6 The department shall be appropriated up to $100,000 each year
7 to be used to disseminate materials concerning this act to all
8 the school districts. Because the intent is to make people more
9 aware of and sensitive to the importance of returning and
10 recycling beverage containers, the department is given the
11 authority to use some of the allocated funds, after the school
12 districts are adequately served, to distribute or broadcast
13 information to the public at large.
14 Section 12. Enforcement.
15 The provisions of this act shall be enforced by the
16 department, which shall adopt regulations to implement the
17 provisions of this act.
18 Section 13. Penalties.
19 (a) Penalty.--A person who violates this act or any
20 regulation promulgated hereunder commits a summary offense and
21 shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less
22 than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each separate offense, and,
23 in the default of the payment of the fine, shall be imprisoned
24 for a period of 30 days.
25 (b) Jurisdiction and venue.--All summary proceedings under
26 the provisions of this act may be brought before any district
27 justice of the county where the offense occurred and, for that
28 purpose, jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the district
29 justice, subject to appeal by either party in the manner
30 provided by law. In the case of any appeal from any conviction
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1 in the manner provided by law for appeals from summary
2 convictions, it shall be the duty of the district attorney of
3 the county to represent the interests of the Commonwealth.
4 Section 14. Temporary commission created.
5 A temporary State commission is hereby created, to be known
6 as the Commission on Returnable Beverage Containers. The
7 commission shall consist of 12 members to be appointed as
8 follows: three members shall be the Secretary of Agriculture,
9 Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Environmental
10 Resources, or their designees; three members shall be appointed
11 by the Governor; two members shall be appointed by the President
12 pro tempore of the Senate and one member by the Minority Leader
13 of the Senate; and two members shall be appointed by the Speaker
14 of the House of Representatives and one member by the Minority
15 Leader of the House of Representatives. Appointments shall be
16 made so as to achieve representation of the social,
17 environmental, economic and governmental interests of the
18 Commonwealth. Any vacancy on the commission shall be filled in
19 the same manner in which the original appointment was made. A
20 chairman and vice chairman of the commission shall be elected by
21 the majority of its members, all members being present. The
22 commission shall be appointed to begin work two years after the
23 effective date of this act. The commission shall submit a copy
24 of the report required under section 15 to the Governor and the
25 General Assembly by the end of the third year of this act.
26 Section 15. Powers and duties of commission.
27 The powers and duties of the commission shall be:
28 (1) To provide a comprehensive review of the
29 effectiveness of this act and its impact on environmental
30 factors.
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1 (2) To study the effectiveness of the provisions of this
2 act relating to the reduction of littering of beverage
3 containers.
4 (3) To review the effectiveness of this act in the
5 reduction of the use of raw materials, water consumption and
6 energy consumption as related to beverage containers in this
7 Commonwealth.
8 (4) To study the impact of this act upon the economic
9 health of the beverage industry and of the Commonwealth in
10 general.
11 (5) To recommend in its report the need for any
12 legislative action with respect to this act.
13 Section 16. Employment of personnel.
14 The commission may employ and at pleasure remove such
15 personnel as it may deem necessary for the performance of its
16 functions and fix their compensation within the amounts made
17 available by appropriation therefor. The commission may hold
18 public or private hearings and shall have all the powers of a
19 legislative committee. The members of the commission shall
20 receive no compensation for their services but shall be allowed
21 their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
22 of their duties. There is hereby appropriated up to $100,000
23 this one time for the purpose of carrying out the duties of the
24 commission.
25 Section 17. Severability.
26 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of
27 this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
28 held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions
29 or applications of this act which can be given effect without
30 the invalid provision or application.
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1 Section 18. Effective date.
2 This act shall take effect in one year.
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