Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bottle Bill topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs bill to limit out-of-state redemption and study fixes after 10¢ bottle law created fraud issues
Summary
SB 516 would create mechanisms to discourage out-of-state bottle and can redemptions that have surged since Connecticut raised the deposit to 10¢, while preserving the 10¢ rate; committee advanced the bill amid debate over whether industry-led product stewardship (SB 457) is a better long-term solution.
The committee advanced SB 516, a bill intended to address unintended consequences from raising the bottle-deposit redemption fee to $0.10, including what lawmakers described as organized out-of-state redemptions and fraud that impose costs on Connecticut distributors and ratepayers.
Senator Fonfair summarized the problem: after Connecticut increased the per-container redemption to 10¢, people and organized collection efforts from neighboring states started bringing large volumes of containers to Connecticut redemption centers, increasing distributor liabilities. "This has led to a perversity in terms of distributors who are responsible for paying the 10¢ fee, but only receiving 5¢," he said, noting an estimated ~$14 million either owed or paid to distributors under the current arrangements.
Supporters of the bill said it creates a process and incentives to bring parties together over the next year to find solutions that discourage non-Connecticut redemptions while maintaining recycling goals. Opponents urged coordination with a competing product-stewardship approach (SB 457) that would shift responsibility for container stewardship to manufacturers and set labeling and transshipment rules. Representative Mashinsky and other critics warned that the committee bill could trigger a rollback to a 5¢ rate if not carefully implemented.
Outcome: After debate the committee advanced SB 516 to JFS. Members said further work is needed — including possible coordination with the product-stewardship bill and enforcement steps such as bar-code marking and caps on daily redemptions for redemption centers.
What’s next: The bill moves forward to the floor; sponsors and staff said the committee'level action aims to create incentives and a process to reduce fraud and protect distributors while preserving recycling objectives.
