102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB3975

 

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Sen. Laura M. Murphy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Beverage Container Deposit Act. Provides that every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the State shall have a specified refund value. Provides that a consumer shall pay a nonrefundable fee when purchasing a beverage container not made of aluminum, glass, high density polyethylene plastic, or polyethylene terephthalate that covers the consumer's cost of sorting, transporting, and recycling. Requires all distributors and importers of a beverage in or into the State to join as members of a Producer Responsibility Organization, which must be established and operated as a nonprofit organization. Provides specified performance targets for the Organization. Provides that the Organization shall create an advisory committee with the opportunity to provide written or oral comments directly to the Board of Directors and President of the Organization at least twice a year and submit to the General Assembly once per calendar year a written report with specified requirements. Provides that the Environmental Protection Agency may impose specified civil penalties and criminal fines for violations of the Act. Contains requirements concerning means of redemption of beverage containers for retailers, labeling requirements, timing requirements, performance targets, reporting obligations, and other requirements. Contains other provisions.


LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3975LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Beverage Container Deposit Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Agency" means the Environmental Protection Agency.
8    "Beverage" means a drinkable liquid intended for human
9oral consumption. "Beverage" does not include the following:
10        (1) A drug regulated under the federal Food, Drug, and
11    Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).
12        (2) Infant formula.
13        (3) A meal replacement liquid.
14    "Beverage container" means a prepackaged container of a
15beverage:
16        (1) made of any material, including glass, plastic,
17    metal, carton, pouch, or aseptic packaging, such as a
18    drink box, and multimaterial; and
19        (2) the volume of which is not more than one gallon.
20    "Consumer" means a person in the State who purchases a
21beverage in a beverage container for use or consumption.
22    "Distributor" means a person who engages in the sale of a
23beverage in a beverage container to a retailer in the State,

 

 

SB3975- 2 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1including any manufacturer who engages in such sales.
2    "Importer" means a retailer or manufacturer who directly
3imports beverage containers into the State.
4    "Line breakage" means a defective or damaged beverage
5container most likely set aside and not meant for the market
6place.
7    "Member" means a distributor or importer who has joined
8the Organization and pays the applicable fees.
9    "Organization" means the Producer Responsibility
10Organization established under Section 45.
11    "Retailer" means a person or business in the State who
12engages in the sale of a beverage in a beverage container to a
13consumer.
14    "Reverse vending machine" means a device designed to
15properly identify and process empty beverage containers and
16provide a means for a deposit refund on returnable beverage
17containers.
 
18    Section 10. Applicable refund value.
19    (a) Every beverage container sold or offered for sale in
20the State shall have the following refund value:
21        (1) Ten cents for a beverage container under 24 fluid
22    ounces; or
23        (2) Fifteen cents for a beverage container of 24 fluid
24    ounces or more.
25    (b) The Agency may change the refund value by either:

 

 

SB3975- 3 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1        (1) the Agency, in consultation with the Organization,
2    deciding to change the minimum refund amount in a
3    material-neutral way; or
4        (2) the Agency receiving a request from the
5    Organization for a change in the refund amount and
6    deciding it is an appropriate change.
7    (c) The Agency shall not change the refund value via the
8means described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) more than
9one time in any 10-year period.
10    (d) The Agency shall not change the refund value via the
11means described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) more than
12one time in any 5-year period.
13    (e) Prior to any change in the refund value described in
14subsection (b), the Agency must undergo a notice and comment
15review period with at least 60 days' notice of the change.
16    (f) If the Organization's publicly reported redemption
17rate required under Section 25 shows that the redemption rate
18does not reach 85% for 3 years in a row after being required to
19reach this performance target per Section 50, then every
20beverage container sold or offered for sale in the State shall
21have the following refund value:
22        (1) Fifteen cents for a beverage container under 24
23    fluid ounces.
24        (2) Twenty cents for a beverage container of 24 fluid
25    ounces or more.
26    (g) Any refunds not redeemed by consumers are funds the

 

 

SB3975- 4 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1Organization shall use to support its administrative costs and
2to perform the activities required under this Act.
 
3    Section 15. Container recycling fee.
4    (a) A consumer shall pay a nonrefundable fee, determined
5by the Organization under subsection (c), when purchasing a
6beverage container not made of aluminum, glass, high density
7polyethylene plastic, or polyethylene terephthalate that
8covers the consumer's cost of sorting, transporting, and
9recycling.
10    (b) The Organization may impose a nonrefundable fee for
11beverage containers in addition to the fee specified in
12subsection (a).
13    (c) The Organization shall determine the necessary
14nonrefundable fee for each beverage container type that
15defrays the cost of sorting, transporting, and recycling each
16beverage container type.
17    (d) The Organization may stop charging a container
18recycling fee for any beverage container for which a fee is
19charged under subsection (a) once there is sufficient economic
20value and end-markets to support all or most of the cost of
21sorting, transporting, and recycling a beverage container
22type.
23    (e) A retailer must make the nonrefundable fee described
24in subsection (a) visible on the receipt provided to the
25consumer.
 

 

 

SB3975- 5 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1    Section 20. Material flows.
2    (a) When a consumer redeems a beverage container for the
3applicable refund value described in Section 10 via the means
4described in Section 25, the Organization becomes the owner of
5the beverage container and may sell it to the end-market of its
6choosing.
7    (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Organization must
8transfer 10% of the scrap value of a beverage container to the
9Agency for the 5 years after beverage containers start to be
10sold in the State with the applicable refund value described
11in Section 10 that the Agency must use to support the
12collection of household recyclables, including direct payments
13to household recycling collection operators and household
14recycling education efforts.
 
15    Section 25. Means of redemption.
16    (a) A retailer with a retail space equal to or greater than
175,000 square feet must:
18        (1) accept a beverage container and pay the applicable
19    refund value described in Section 10 for up to 250
20    beverage containers per person per day;
21        (2) permit the Organization to operate a bag drop
22    program in its parking lot by providing space of the
23    retailer's choosing within its parking lot sufficient to
24    operate a bag drop as described in subsection (h); or

 

 

SB3975- 6 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1        (3) if the retailer has fewer than 30 parking spots
2    under its control, permit the Organization to install,
3    maintain, and service at least 2 reverse vending machines.
4    (b) A retailer with a retail space of more than 1,000
5square feet and less than 5,000 square feet must:
6        (1) accept a beverage container and pay the applicable
7    refund value described in Section 10 for up to 50 beverage
8    containers per person per day;
9        (2) permit the Organization to operate a bag drop
10    program in its parking lot by providing space of the
11    retailer's choosing within its parking lot sufficient to
12    operate a bag drop as described in subsection (h); or
13        (3) if the retailer has fewer than 30 parking spots
14    under its control, permit the Organization to install,
15    maintain, and service at least one reverse vending
16    machine.
17    (c) A retailer with a retail space of 1,000 square feet or
18less and who sells more than 1,000,000 beverage containers per
19year must:
20        (1) accept a beverage container and pay the applicable
21    refund value described in Section 10 for up to 25 beverage
22    containers per person per day;
23        (2) permit the Organization to operate a bag drop
24    program in its parking lot by providing space of its
25    choosing within its parking lot sufficient to operate a
26    bag drop as described in subsection (h); or

 

 

SB3975- 7 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1        (3) if the retailer has fewer than 30 parking spots
2    under its control, permit the Organization to install,
3    maintain, and service at least one reverse vending
4    machine.
5    (d) A retailer with a retail space of 1,000 square feet or
6less and sells less than 1,000,000 beverage containers per
7year has no duty under this Act except as detailed in
8subsections (e) and (f).
9    (e) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (d), a
10retailer who has at least 10,000 people living within a 3-mile
11radius of the retailer must permit the Organization to
12install, maintain, and service at least one reverse vending
13machine.
14    (f) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (d), a
15retailer shall:
16        (1) offer for sale the standard bags that the
17    Organization deems necessary to operate the bag drop
18    programs detailed in this Section;
19        (2) permit the Organization to install, service, and
20    operate a reverse vending machine in space controlled by
21    the retailer; and
22        (3) permit the Organization to install, service, and
23    operate a self-service kiosk that allows for the printing
24    of redemption vouchers.
25    (g) The following retailers do not need to comply with the
26requirements of this Section regarding means of redemption:

 

 

SB3975- 8 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1        (1) A business that primarily prepares food for sale.
2        (2) A person or business who sells beverage containers
3    to consumers through stand-alone vending machines or
4    similar means.
5    (h) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (f), for zip
6codes with a greater population density than 30,000 residents
7per square mile in the State, the Organization must ensure
8that all residents in the applicable zip code are within 2
9miles of a bag drop redemption location and must build,
10service, and operate its own bag drop redemption locations as
11necessary.
12    (i) Any facility that the Organization sets up in the
13State to efficiently aggregate, sort, and process the material
14collected at various redemption locations:
15        (1) shall accept unlimited amounts of beverage
16    containers eligible for redemption submitted in the
17    standard bag determined by the Organization from
18    organizations established and operated as described in
19    Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of
20    1986 or as nonprofit organizations pursuant to the tax law
21    of the State; and
22        (2) may provide these organizations a premium as
23    determined by the Organization.
24    (j) The means of redemption required by this Section shall
25be available to the public for not less than 10 hours each day,
26except for a federal, State, or local holiday.

 

 

SB3975- 9 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1    (k) The Organization must provide on its website, and on
2clearly visible signs at least 10 feet by 10 feet at redemption
3locations described in this Section, information on how
4consumers can alert the Organization to problems at redemption
5locations.
 
6    Section 30. Labeling.
7    (a) A manufacturer, importer, or distributor of a beverage
8container that is sold in the State shall include on the top
9lid or on the side or body of the beverage container, anywhere
10clearly visible, a standardized mark developed by the
11Organization that indicates to the consumer that the beverage
12container is redeemable for the applicable refund value
13described in Section 10.
14    (b) An Organization may require any manufacturer,
15importer, or distributor of a beverage container that is sold
16in the State to include a barcode or unique code verification
17on the beverage container to allow for automated
18identification.
 
19    Section 35. Timing.
20    (a) All beverage containers sold in the State must have
21the applicable refund value stated in Section 10 no later than
223 years after the effective date of this Act.
23    (b) All beverage containers subject to the container
24recycling fee described in Section 15 shall be sold with the

 

 

SB3975- 10 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1container recycling fee no later than 4 years after the
2effective date of this Act.
3    (c) The Agency may permit up to 365 additional days for the
4deadlines required under this Section.
 
5    Section 40. Prohibitions.
6    (a) It is unlawful to distribute, import, or sell beverage
7containers in commerce in the State except in compliance with
8this Act.
9    (b) It is unlawful to redeem a beverage container in the
10State that was not sold to the consumer in the State.
 
11    Section 45. Producer Responsibility Organization.
12    (a) All distributors and importers of a beverage in or
13into the State shall establish and join the Producer
14Responsibility Organization as members. The Organization must
15be established and operated as a nonprofit organization.
16    (b) Only one Organization is permitted to operate in the
17State. The Organization may decide to operate jointly with
18similar organizations in one or more other states.
19    (c) The Organization shall charge a fee to members, based
20upon the amount of their beverage containers sold in the
21State, that funds the Organization's costs of operations minus
22unredeemed deposits, container recycling fees, or any other
23revenue sources that the Organization may develop.
24    The Organization shall vary the fee charged to each member

 

 

SB3975- 11 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1based upon the relative cost to manage the beverage containers
2each member distributes or sells in the State.
3    The Organization shall refund to its members the proceeds
4of selling redeemed beverage containers based upon the
5relative scrap value of the beverage containers each member
6distributes or sells in the State.
7    (d) The Organization shall pay for the following:
8        (1) The installation, maintenance, and operation of
9    redemption in the parking lots of retailers, as described
10    in Section 25, for programs that permit consumers to drop
11    off bags with beverage containers eligible for redemption
12    and get paid the appropriate redemption value
13    electronically.
14        (2) The installation, maintenance, and operation of
15    reverse vending machines at retailers described in Section
16    25.
17        (3) The installation, maintenance, and operation of
18    self-service kiosks at retailers described in paragraph 3
19    of subsection (f) of Section 25.
20        (4) The building, service, and operation of bag drop
21    locations necessary to provide adequate access to certain
22    zip codes as described in subsection (h) of Section 25.
23        (5) Any facility in the State necessary to efficiently
24    aggregate, sort, and process the material collected at
25    various redemption locations.
26        (6) The upkeep of a list and map on the Organization's

 

 

SB3975- 12 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1    website of all redemption locations and what redemption
2    options are available at each location.
3    (e) The Organization may:
4        (1) Use funds generated from this Act and otherwise to
5    give grants for:
6            (A) litter clean-up; and
7            (B) education and outreach on the recycling of
8        beverage containers or nonbeverage containers.
9        (2) Give funds to its members in a fiscal year in which
10    its revenues exceed the cost of carrying out the
11    requirements of this Act by more than 50%. The funds given
12    to members must not cause revenue to go below greater than
13    150% of the cost of carrying out the requirements of this
14    Act.
 
15    Section 50. Organization performance targets.
16    (a) The Organization shall meet the following performance
17targets:
18        (1) At least a 75% redemption target for all beverage
19    containers, starting 2 years after all beverage containers
20    are sold in the State with the applicable deposit value
21    described in Section 10.
22        (2) at least an 85% redemption target for all beverage
23    containers, starting 4 years after all beverage containers
24    are sold in the State with the applicable deposit value
25    described in Section 10.

 

 

SB3975- 13 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1        (3) at least a 90% redemption target for all beverage
2    containers, starting 6 years after all beverage containers
3    are sold in the State with the applicable deposit value
4    described in Section 10.
5    (b) If the Organization does not meet the performance
6targets detailed in subsection (a), it must submit to the
7Agency a product stewardship plan no more than 365 days after
8the publication of the public data required under Section 55
9shows that the performance targets in subsection (a) were not
10met and detailing the actions the Organization will take to
11meet the performance targets detailed in subsection (a).
12    (c) If, 3 years after submission of the product
13stewardship plan described in subsection (b), the performance
14targets described in subsection (a) have not been met, then
15the Agency may:
16        (1) fine the Organization up to $250 per day that the
17    targets are not met; and
18        (2) require the Organization to submit a revised
19    product stewardship plan.
20    (d) If, 5 years after submission of the product
21stewardship plan described in subsection (b), the performance
22targets described in subsection (a) have not been met, then
23the Agency may take over the Organization's operations and
24charge its members in accordance with subsection (c) until the
25performance targets of subsection (a) are met, and then shall
26transfer leadership of the Organization back to the

 

 

SB3975- 14 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1Organization within 180 days after achieving the performance
2targets of subsection (a).
 
3    Section 55. Reporting.
4    (a) By July 1 of each calendar year, the Organization
5shall make the following publicly available on its website:
6        (1) The number of beverage containers sold in the
7    State by material type for each quarter of the year
8    covered by the report and the quarters of each prior year.
9        (2) The number of beverage containers redeemed by
10    material type for each quarter of the year covered by the
11    report and the quarter of each prior year.
12        (3) The number of beverage containers redeemed at each
13    bag drop location, reverse vending machine, or other
14    redemption location that the Organization operates.
15        (4) The end-markets to which the Organization sells
16    beverage containers.
17        (5) The percent of the total amount sold of each
18    material type of beverage container that went to each
19    end-market.
20        (6) All redemption locations in the State.
21        (7) The means of redemption at each location in the
22    State.
23        (8) The total expenses of the Organization.
24        (9) The number of consumer complaints per month by
25    redemption location for the previous calendar year and

 

 

SB3975- 15 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1    each prior year.
2        (10) The total number of individual consumers per
3    month that filed complaints, by redemption location, for
4    the previous calendar year and each prior year.
5    (b) The Agency may require the Organization to have an
6independent third party verify the numbers disclosed under
7subsection (a) with the following requirements:
8        (1) The Agency shall notify the Organization by August
9    1 that it is requiring an independent third-party review.
10        (2) The Organization shall have until December 31 to
11    conduct the independent third-party review.
12    (c) The Organization must establish safeguards to ensure
13that its members do not have access to nor see information
14regarding:
15        (1) the price paid for the material sold by any
16    individual buyer; and
17        (2) how much of each material went to each individual
18    recycler.
 
19    Section 60. Advisory committee.
20    (a) The Organization shall establish an advisory committee
21that represents a range of interested and engaged persons,
22including, at a minimum, one of each of the following:
23        (1) Beverage container manufacturers or their trade
24    associations.
25        (2) Beverage producers or their trade associations.

 

 

SB3975- 16 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1        (3) Local government.
2        (4) Environmental nonprofit organizations.
3        (5) End-markets that buy or recycle beverage
4    containers from the Organization.
5        (6) Retailers or their trade associations.
6    (b) The advisory committee shall:
7        (1) have the opportunity to provide written or oral
8    comments directly to the Board of Directors and President
9    of the Organization at least twice a year;
10        (2) submit to the General Assembly once per calendar
11    year a written report with:
12            (A) its feedback on the operation of the
13        Organization; and
14            (B) its feedback on the deposit return system
15        generally; and
16        (3) have each of its written reports to the General
17    Assembly published on the Organization's website.
 
18    Section 65. Reimbursement. The Organization shall
19reimburse the Agency for costs incurred by the Agency under
20this Act.
 
21    Section 70. Enforcement.
22    (a) In addition to any other applicable civil penalty or
23criminal fine, the Agency may impose a civil penalty for a
24violation of this Act of $100 for each initial separate

 

 

SB3975- 17 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1violation and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent
2separate violation per day.
3    (b) A person who, with intent to defraud, knowingly takes
4any of the following actions is guilty of a crime:
5        (1) Redeems out-of-state containers, rejected
6    containers, line breakage, or containers that have already
7    been redeemed.
8        (2) Returns redeemed containers to the State
9    marketplace for redemption.
10        (3) Brings out-of-state containers, rejected
11    containers, or line breakage to the State marketplace for
12    redemption.
13    (c) If the money obtained pursuant to subsection (b):
14        (1) equals or is less than $950, the person is subject
15    to punishment by imprisonment in a county jail for not
16    more than 6 months, by a criminal fine not exceeding
17    $1,000, or both; or
18        (2) exceeds $950, a person convicted of a crime
19    pursuant to paragraph (1) is subject to punishment by
20    imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year,
21    by a criminal fine not exceeding $10,000, or both.
22    (d) The Agency may bring a civil action to enjoin the
23distribution, importation, or sale into the State of a
24beverage sold in a beverage container in violation of this
25Act.
26    (e) The Agency may fine the Organization up to $30,000

 

 

SB3975- 18 -LRB102 24551 CPF 33785 b

1annually per redemption location that receives complaints from
2more than 50 individuals per month in the public reporting
3required under Section 55.
4    (f) All civil penalties and criminal fines the Agency
5recovers under this Section shall only be used to:
6        (1) administer this Act;
7        (2) build infrastructure that enhances recycling in
8    the State;
9        (3) conduct outreach and education activities focused
10    on recycling in the State;
11        (4) perform litter clean-ups in the State; or
12        (5) support collection of recyclable material at the
13    household or in public spaces.