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SB00457 • 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATE'S BOTTLE BILL.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATE'S BOTTLE BILL.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Environment Committee
Last action
2026-05-29
Official status
Transmitted by Secretary of the State to Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of the law is not specified in the provided official summary, only that it will be October 1, 2026.

A Law About Beverage Containers

This law sets rules about collecting refunds on out-of-state drink containers, establishes a timeline for picking up empty bottles by distributors, and changes handling fees for certain redemption centers.

What This Bill Does

  • It stops people from getting refunds on drink containers bought outside the state.
  • It makes it illegal to collect or charge refunds on more than five thousand out-of-state drink containers in one year.
  • It sets a timeline for distributors to pick up empty bottles and cans.
  • It changes how much money redemption centers get when they return certain types of drink containers.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who buy and sell drink containers
  • Distributors who collect empty bottles and cans

Terms To Know

Product Stewardship Program
A plan where companies are responsible for the products they make, including how to recycle them.
Redemption Center
A place where people can return empty drink containers and get money back.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify exactly when it will start.
  • It only applies to beverage containers sold in the state, not those bought out of state.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-29 Connecticut General Assembly

    Transmitted to the Secretary of State

  2. 2026-05-29 Connecticut General Assembly

    Transmitted by Secretary of the State to Governor

  3. 2026-05-20 LCO

    Public Act 26-148

  4. 2026-05-06 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  5. 2026-05-06 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 579

  6. 2026-05-06 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Adopted Senate Amendment Schedule A,B

  7. 2026-05-06 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Passed as Amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A,B

  8. 2026-05-06 Connecticut General Assembly

    In Concurrence

  9. 2026-05-05 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Adopted Senate Amendment Schedule B 5239

  10. 2026-05-05 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Passed as Amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A,B

  11. 2026-05-05 Connecticut General Assembly

    Transmitted Pursuant To Joint Rule 17

  12. 2026-04-27 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  13. 2026-04-27 Connecticut General Assembly

    No New File by Committee on Judiciary

  14. 2026-04-27 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate

  15. 2026-04-24 JUD

    Joint Favorable

  16. 2026-04-24 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  17. 2026-04-21 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Adopted Senate Amendment Schedule A 4410

  18. 2026-04-21 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred by Senate to Committee on Judiciary

  19. 2026-04-21 Connecticut General Assembly

    Immediate Transmittal

  20. 2026-04-07 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  21. 2026-04-07 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate

  22. 2026-04-07 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Calendar Number 291

  23. 2026-04-07 LCO

    File Number 479

  24. 2026-03-30 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/07/26 12:00 PM

  25. 2026-03-19 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  26. 2026-03-18 ENV

    Joint Favorable

  27. 2026-03-09 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/13

  28. 2026-03-06 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Environment

Official Summary Text

To (1) require the development of a product stewardship program for beverage containers sold in the state, (2) examine the legal implications of requiring state-specific labeling for beverage containers sold in the state, (3) establish a timeline for the picking up of beverage containers by distributors, (4) prohibit transshipment of beverage containers, (5) require the acceptance of certain processed beverage containers by distributors, (6) make permanent certain escheat distributions from beverage containers, and (7) prohibit the act of short bagging by redemption centers.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Substitute Senate Bill No. 457

Public Act No. 26-148

AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATE'S BOTTLE BILL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Notwithstanding any
provision of chapter 446d of the general statutes, no person shall collect
or charge a refund value on a beverage container not purchased in this
state.
(b) Any person who wilfully collects or charges a refund value on a
beverage container not purchased in this state on the amount of not less
than five thousand but not more than nineteen thousand nine hundred
and ninety -nine beverage containers in one or m ore separate
transactions during a single calendar year or who directs another person
to do so shall have committed a class B misdemeanor.
(c) Any person who wilfully collects or charges a refund value on a
beverage container not purchased in this state on the amount of not less
than twenty thousand but not more than thirty thousand nine hundred
and ninety -nine beverage containers in one or m ore separate
transactions during a one-year period or who directs another person to
do so shall have committed a class A misdemeanor.
(d) Any person who wilfully collects or charges a refund value on a
Substitute Senate Bill No. 457

Public Act No. 26-148 2 of 2

beverage container not purchased in this state on the amount of forty
thousand or more beverage containers in one or more separate
transactions during a one-year period or who directs another person to
do so shall have committed a class D felony.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to any common
or contract carrier or warehouse worker while engaged in lawfully
transporting or storing beverage containers as merchandise, or any
employee of such carrier or warehouse worker who acts within the
scope of such employee's employment.
Sec. 2. Subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of section 22a-245 of the 2026
supplement to the general statutes, as amended by section 1 of public
act 26 -2, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof
(Effective from passage):
(2) For the period commencing April 1, 2026, and ending June 30,
2027, the handling fee paid by a distributor for any beverage container
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection to any redemption center
that, on average, annually processes fifty mil lion or more beverage
containers, as confirmed by the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection in consultation with the Department of
Revenue Services, and that does not utilize automated barcode or
universal product code scanning for the redemption of all such beverage
containers shall be reduced by not more than one cent. On and after July
1, 2027, or at such time that a redemption center subject to such
reduction utilizes automated barcode or universal product code
scanning for the redemption of all such beverage containers, whichever
is earlier, any such reduction in the handling fee shall discontinue . [,
provided such redemption center utilizes automated barcode or
universal product code scanning for the redemption of all such beverage
containers.]