HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3861        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 768

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Michelle L. Ciccolo

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to ensure plastic bottle recycling.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3861        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 768

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act to ensure plastic bottle recycling.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Definitions

In this Act, these words are defined as follows:

(A) “Recycle” means the series of activities by which a covered product is (i) collected, sorted, and processed; (ii) converted into a raw material with minimal loss of material quality, and (iii) used in the production of a new product, including the original product.

(B) The term "recycle" does not include:

(i) the method of sorting, processing, and aggregating materials from solid waste that does not preserve the original material quality, and, as a result, the aggregated material is no longer usable for a substantially similar product, and can only be used for inferior purposes or products (commonly referred to as ‘downcycling’),

(ii) the use of waste a) as a fuel or fuel substitute; b) for energy production; c) for repurposing into infrastructure, including pavement and construction materials,

(iii) the conversion of waste into alternative products, such as chemicals, feedstocks, fuels, and energy, through incineration, pyrolysis, methanolysis, gasification, solvolysis, molecular or advanced recycling, or a similar technology determined by the Agency.

SECTION 2.

(A) Two years after the passage of this act, the total number of plastic beverage containers filled with a beverage sold by a beverage manufacturer subject to The Beverage Container Recovery Law, M.G.L. Chapter 94, Sections 321-327, for sale in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall, on average, contain no less than 15 percent postconsumer recycled plastic per year.

(B) Five years after the passage of this act, the total number of plastic beverage containers filled with a beverage sold by a beverage manufacturer subject to The Beverage Container Recovery Law, M.G.L. Chapter 94, Sections 321-327, for sale in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall, on average, contain no less than 25 percent postconsumer recycled plastic per year.

(C) Eight years after the passage of this act, the total number of plastic beverage containers filled with a beverage sold by a beverage manufacturer subject to The Beverage Container Recovery Law, M.G.L. Chapter 94, Sections 321-327, for sale in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall, on average, contain no less than 50 percent postconsumer recycled plastic per year.

SECTION 3.

(a) On or before March 1 of each year, a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to The Beverage Container Recovery Law, M.G.L. Chapter 94, Sections 321-327 shall report to the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (hereafter referred to as “the Department”) the amount in pounds and by resin type of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer for plastic beverage containers subject to the The Beverage Container Recovery Law, M.G.L. Chapter 94, Sections 321-327 for sale in the Commonwealth in the previous calendar year. The manufacturer shall submit this information to the Department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the Department.

(b) On or before March 1 of the second year after the passage of this act, and annually thereafter, a plastic material reclaimer shall report to the Department the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic beverage containers subject to The Beverage Container Recovery Law, M.G.L. Chapter 94, Sections 321-327, that the plastic material reclaimer has collected and sold in the previous calendar year. The report shall specify the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic containers sold in the Commonwealth for beverage processing. The plastic material reclaimer shall submit this information to the Department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the Department.

(c) On or before March 1 of the second year after the passage of this act, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic shall report to the Department the amount in pounds of food-grade flake, pellet, sheet, fines, or other forms that were sold in the previous calendar year and their capacity to produce food-grade material. The report shall specify the amount in pounds of material that meets beverage manufacturer specifications for bottle-grade material. The report shall include the amount in pounds of food-grade material sold in the state for beverage processing. The manufacturer shall submit this information to the Department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the Department.

(d) The Department shall post the information reported pursuant to subdivision (a) within 45 days on the Department’s internet website.

(e) This section does not apply to a refillable plastic beverage container.

SECTION 4.

This law shall not apply to rigid plastic containers or rigid plastic bottles that are medical devices, medical products that are required to be sterile, prescription medicine, or packaging used for those products.