The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 10 : Conservation and Development

Chapter 053 : Beverage Containers; Deposit-Redemption System

• § 1531. Manufacturer and distributor participation in producer responsibility organization

  [Subsection (a) effective July 1, 2027.]

  (a) No deposit initiator shall sell or distribute a beverage container in this State without participating in a Secretary-approved producer responsibility organization.

  (b) On or before January 1, 2027, the deposit initiator of beverage containers sold or distributed within the State shall apply to the Secretary to form a producer responsibility organization to fulfill the requirements of deposit initiators under this chapter.

  (c) The Secretary may approve, for a period not longer than 10 years, the producer responsibility organization, provided that:

  (1) the producer responsibility organization or its subsidiary is registered under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) as a nonprofit entity;

  (2) the producer responsibility organization has the capacity to administer the requirements of a stewardship plan required by section 1532 of this title; and

  (3) the producer responsibility organization does not create any unreasonable barriers to joining the producer responsibility organization and shall take into the consideration the needs of small manufacturers that do not generate a significant volume of containers.

  (d) After approval, the producer responsibility organization shall maintain a website that identifies:

  (1) the name and principal business address of each manufacturer or distributor participating in the producer responsibility organization;

  (2) the name of each beverage and the container size covered by the stewardship plan; and

  (3) for each beverage container subject to the plan, a Universal Product Code and a barcode shall be displayed on the container.

  (e) The producer responsibility organization may charge fees to deposit initiators to cover the costs of administration and implementation of this chapter. Deposit initiators shall pay all fees required by the producer responsibility organization and provide any data required by the producer responsibility organization. If a deposit initiator fails to meet these requirements, the producer responsibility organization may remove it from the producer responsibility organization.

  (f) If the producer responsibility organization fails to implement the requirements of this chapter, the rules adopted by the Secretary, or an approved stewardship plan, the Secretary may dissolve the producer responsibility organization.

  (g) If no producer responsibility organization is formed, the Secretary shall either require the formation of the producer responsibility organization or adopt and administer a plan that meets the requirements of section 1532 of this title. If the Secretary administers the plan adopted under section 1532 of this title, the Secretary shall charge each deposit initiator the costs of plan administration, the Agency’s oversight costs, and a recycling market development assessment of 25 percent of the plan’s total cost to be deposited in the Solid Waste Management Assistance Account of the Waste Management Assistance Fund, for the purpose of providing grants to develop markets to recycle materials.

  (h) The producer responsibility organization shall reimburse the Secretary for the costs of overseeing the administration of the program under this chapter as follows:

  (1) The Secretary shall annually provide an estimate of the costs of overseeing the administration of the program to the producer responsibility organization, including staff costs, compliance, and oversight of the system.

  (2) The producer responsibility organization shall provide any comments to the Secretary’s budget within 30 days following receipt. The Agency of Natural Resources shall respond to all comments provided by the producer responsibility organization and may make changes to its budget in response to those comments. These comments and the responses shall be provided to the General Assembly as a part of the Secretary’s budget.

  (3) Reimbursement of Agency of Natural Resources costs under this subsection shall be subject to the State budgeting process, and the producer responsibility organization shall not be required to reimburse any Agency cost unless that cost is approved as a part of the Agency’s budget.

  (i) Manufacturers and distributors of liquor are exempt from the requirements of this section and the requirement to implement a stewardship plan under section 1532 of this title. (Added 2025, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2026 and July 1 , 2027.)