Legislative counsel outlines bill to shift Vermont bottle redemption to manufacturer‑run program

Legislative counsel told the Natural Resources & Energy committee that H.915 would establish an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for beverage containers that keeps the current 5¢ deposit but shifts operational responsibility to manufacturers and distributors organized in a nonprofit Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO).

The bill would require manufacturers and distributors to form a PRO and submit a plan to the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) for review; counsel said the plan must include a list of participating manufacturers and containers, UPC/barcode information to enable automated sorting, and minimum convenience standards. "What it does do is that it creates an extended producer responsibility program for the collection, redemption, and disposition of containers that are currently subject to the bottle deposit law," counsel said during the committee presentation.

Why it matters: committee members were told the state faces 'redemption deserts' where residents lack convenient access to redemption centers and that certified redemption centers have declined. The bill seeks to modernize the system by incentivizing commingled collection, funding equipment upgrades, and requiring the PRO to site points of redemption equitably across counties and population centers.…