Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025

Statement of Introduction Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025 January 15, 2025 Nyasha Howard, Secretary Council of the District of Columbia 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20004 Dear Secretary Howard, The District of Columbia has a significant litter issue. Of particular concern are beverage containers, which end up on the ground and in our waterways by the ton. Plastic bottles alone account for 60 percent of the weight of all trash retrieved from the Anacostia River. Many of these containers end up going to landfill rather than getting recycled. However, even when bottles and cans make it into the recycling stream, they are often contaminated, as a result of the District relying on a single stream recycling system. When that occurs, these containers are ultimately rejected by recycling facilities and end up at an incinerator or landfill, where they contribute to toxic greenhouse gases. Today, I am introducing the “Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025”, along with Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmembers Charles Allen, Brooke Pinto, Matthew Frumin, Janeese Lewis George, Anita Bonds, Christina Henderson, Robert C. White, Jr., Zachary Parker, and Wendell Felder. This bill establishes a beverage container deposit program in the District, whereby consumers pay a ten-cent deposit on applicable beverages, and are refunded that deposit when they return the empty beverage containers to be recycled. The program, which would be managed by a nonprofit funded by beverage distributors, would be overseen and enforced by the Department of Energy and the Environment. Beverage container deposit programs have been shown to have a significant impact on increasing recycling rates and reducing overall litter. They have been operating in ten other states for decades and the facts are clear and overwhelming.

The ten states that have passed and implemented similar legislation witnessed immediate and significant increases in removing bottles and cans from the waste stream, because residents, visitors, and collectors alike are incentivized to redeem their containers. In Michigan, the return rate for bottles is 73 percent. In Maine, it’s 77 percent. In five of the six states with at least a 10-cent deposit, the redemption rate is over 50 percent. These programs have also reduced other litter. A bottle deposit program will have a profound impact on the environment and on the quality of life in our city, and will get us one giant step closer to meeting our zero waste goals. Sincerely, Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember, Ward 1 Chairperson, Committee on Public Works & Operations

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Chairman Phil Mendelson
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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
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Councilmember Brooke Pinto
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Councilmember Charles Allen
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Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
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Councilmember Matthew Frumin
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Councilmember Christina Henderson
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Councilmember Anita Bonds
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Councilmember Zachary Parker
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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.

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Councilmember Wendell Felder

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A BILL 4
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 8
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To amend the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014 to establish an 13
extended producer responsibility collection and recycling program for beverage 14
containers to be overseen by the Department of Energy and the Environment. 15
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 17
act may be cited as the “Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025”. 18

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Sec. 2. Title I of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014, 19
effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 20-154; D.C. Official Code § 8-1031.01 et seq.), is 20
amended as follows: 21
(a) A new Subtitle E is added to read as follows: 22
“SUBTITLE E. EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR BEVERAGE 23
CONTAINERS. 24
“Sec. 139. Definitions. 25
“For the purposes of this subtitle, the term: 26
“(1) “Account-based bulk payment program” means a program that: 27
“(A) Utilizes a system of customer accounts and a mechanism to associate 28
redeemed redeemable beverage containers with the appropriate customer account; 29
“(B) Consolidates the redeemed redeemable beverage containers for bulk 30
sorting while collecting data about the containers; 31
“(C) Fully prepares redeemed redeemable beverage containers for sale to 32
recyclers; and 33
“(D) Collects data to support an accounting of the redeemable beverage 34
containers, including the deposits, fees, and pounds of material produced that are associated with 35
the redeemable beverage containers. 36
“(2) “Bag drop program” means a program that allows a customer to: 37
“(A) Drop off empty redeemable beverage containers in a bag or other 38
receptacle at one or more locations for a refund; and 39
“(B) Have the corresponding refund placed into an account held for the 40
benefit of the customer in a manner that allows the customer to obtain the refund or refund 41
receipt within a specific number of days after dropping off redeemable beverage containers. 42

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“(3) “Beverage” means any drinkable liquid intended for human oral 43
consumption, except that it does not include: 44
“(A) Drugs regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; 45
“(B) Infant formula; 46
“(C) Meal replacement liquids; 47
“(D) Pedialyte; or 48
“(E) Dairy products derived from animal milk. 49
“(4) “Beverage container” means a bottle, can, or other container that: 50
“(A) Has been sealed by a manufacturer; 51
“(B) Is made of glass, metal, or plastic; and 52
“(C) At the time of sale, contains between 50 milliliters and 3 liters of a 53
beverage. 54
“(D) “Beverage container” does not include cartons, pouches, or aseptic 55
packaging, such as a drink box. 56
“(5) “Beverage container recycling rate” means the number of nonrefillable 57
redeemable beverage containers sold in the District that are redeemed and recycled shown as a 58
percentage of all nonrefillable redeemable beverage containers sold in the District. 59
“(6) “Beverage container redemption and processing method” means a manual or 60
technological method for properly collecting, identifying, counting, or processing empty 61
redeemable beverage containers for redemption. 62
“(7) “Beverage container stewardship organization” means a nonprofit 63
organization that is: 64
“(A) Exempt from taxation undersection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 65
Code; and 66

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“(B) Created by distributors to implement a beverage container 67
stewardship plan. 68
“(8) “Beverage container stewardship plan” means a plan submitted to DOEE 69
under section 142. 70
“(9) “Collection agent” means a person who enters into an agreement with a 71
stewardship organization to collect empty beverage containers from retailers and redemption 72
centers. 73
“(8) “Deposit initiator” means the first distributor to collect a deposit on a 74
beverage container sold in the District. 75
“(9) “Distributor” means a person that sells beverages in redeemable beverage 76
containers to a retailer in the District, including a person that manufactures and sells beverages in 77
redeemable beverage containers to a retailer in the District. 78
“(10) “Line breakage” means a beverage container that: 79
“(A) Becomes defective or damaged during manufacturing; 80
“(B) Is not intended to be sold; and 81
“(C) Is not eligible for redemption. 82
“(11) “Processing payment” means the amount of money that a distributor shall 83
pay a curbside recycling entity, as determined by the DOEE, pursuant to section 147 of this 84
subtitle. 85
“(12) “Redeem” means to return an empty redeemable beverage container in 86
exchange for a refund, a voucher for a refund, or a credit to an account for not less than the 87
refund value. 88
“(13) “Redeemable beverage container” means a beverage container upon which a 89
deposit of at least $.01 has been paid, or is required to be paid upon the purchase of the beverage 90

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container, and for which a refund of at least $.01 is payable by every distributor in the District of 91
that beverage container. 92
“(14) “Redemption facility” means a facility that: 93
“(A) Accepts empty beverage containers from an individual or retailer; 94
“(B) Collects, sorts, and counts empty beverage containers; 95
“(C) Refunds the deposit value of empty redeemable beverage containers 96
in cash, with a voucher, or as a credit to an account for not less than the deposit value of the 97
redeemable beverage container; and 98
“(D) Is licensed by the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. 99
“(15) “Redemption rate” means the percentage of redeemable beverage containers 100
sold in the state that are redeemed for the deposit value. 101
“(16) “Retailer” means a person that engages in the sale of redeemable beverage 102
containers to a consumer in the District. Retailer does not include: 103
“(A) Hotels and other lodging establishments, restaurants, and bars that 104
provide on premises consumption of beverages in beverage containers; or 105
“(B) Retail establishments with less than 2,000 square feet devoted to the 106
display of merchandise for sale to the public. 107
“(17) “Reverse vending machine” means an automated device that: 108
“(A) Accepts one or more types of empty redeemable beverage containers; 109
“(B) Uses a laser scanner, an optical sensor, a microprocessor, or other 110
technology to accurately recognize a beverage container’s universal product code to determine 111
whether the container is a redeemable beverage container; 112
“(C) Issues a redeemable credit slip for the redeemable beverage 113
container’s value: 114

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“(D) Separates redeemable beverage containers from containers that are 115
not redeemable; 116
“(E) Uses mechanical compaction to cancel redeemable beverage 117
containers that have been redeemed; 118
“(F) Compiles information regarding the redeemable beverage containers 119
that have been redeemed, including the number of redeemable beverage containers redeemed. 120
“(18) “UPC” means universal product code, which is a standard barcode that 121
encodes a number uniquely assigned to a product for identification of the product. It includes any 122
industry-accepted barcode used for product identification purposes and a European article 123
number. 124
“Sec. 140. Beverage container deposit program. 125
“(a) Beginning January 1, 2028, a distributor may not sell, offer for sale, or distribute in 126
or import in the District a redeemable beverage container unless the distributor: 127
“(1) Is registered with DOEE in accordance with this section; 128
“(2) Has paid the registration fee required under subsection (e) of this section; and 129
“(3) Is a member of a beverage container stewardship organization that: 130
“(A) Has been approved by DOEE under section 141; and 131
“(B) Has a beverage container stewardship plan approved by DOEE 132
under section 142 of this subtitle. 133
“(b) On or before March 1 each year, beginning in 2027, a beverage container 134
stewardship organization shall provide to DOEE: 135
“(1) A list of each distributor participating in the beverage container stewardship 136
organization; and 137
“(2) For each distributor, the registration form required under subsection (c) of 138

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this section. 139
“(c)(1) DOEE shall create a registration form that requires each distributor participating 140
in the beverage container stewardship organization to provide the following information: 141
“(A) The name, primary business address, and contact information of the 142
person responsible for ensuring distributor compliance with this section; 143
“(B) A list of each brand of redeemable beverage containers that the 144
distributor intends to sell, offer for sale, or distribute in the state, including the size and material 145
of the redeemable beverage containers for each brand; 146
“(C) For each redeemable beverage container specified in the registration, 147
whether the redeemable beverage container: 148
“(i) Is refillable; and 149
“(ii) Depicts a District-specific barcode or symbol; 150
“(D) How each distributor will prevent the fraudulent sale and redemption 151
of redeemable beverage containers that were not sold in the District; 152
“(E) The number of redeemable beverage containers each producer sold in 153
the state in the immediately preceding calendar year; and 154
“(F) Any other information required by DOEE. 155
“(2) A distributor shall submit a completed registration form to the beverage 156
container stewardship organization that represents the distributor. 157
“(d) On or before March 1, 2027, and with a frequency determined by DOEE 158
thereafter, each distributor shall pay a registration fee established by DOEE under subsection (e) 159
of this section. 160
“(e)(1) DOEE shall establish and annual registration fee for distributors that sell 161
redeemable beverage containers in the District. 162

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“(2) The registration fee shall be set in a manner that: 163
“(A) When taken in combination with anticipated revenues from 164
penalties collected under section 154, will produce funds sufficient to cover DOEE’s anticipated 165
costs of planning, implementing, administering, monitoring, enforcing, and evaluating the 166
program for the upcoming year; 167
“(B) For the first year of the program during which registration 168
fees are collected, shall cover the start-up costs of the program that were incurred by DOEE and 169
financed from the general fund; and 170
“(C) Is proportional to a distributor’s share of the total number of 171
redeemable beverage containers sold in the District for the immediately preceding calendar year. 172
“(f) DOEE shall: 173
“(1) If the revenues from the registration fees in the immediately 174
preceding calendar year exceed the costs specified in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection, carry 175
the excess revenues forward to reduce registration fees the following year; and 176
“(2) If the revenues from the registration fees in the immediately 177
preceding year do not cover the costs specified in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection, adjust 178
registration fees for the following year to an amount that will cover DOEE’s actual costs from 179
the immediately preceding year. 180
“(g)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, registration fees 181
collected under this subsection shall be: 182
“(A) Deposited in the District Recycling Fund, established under section; 183
and 184
“(B) Used only to cover DOEE’s costs of planning, implanting, 185
administering, monitoring, enforcing, and evaluating the program. 186

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“(2) The portion of the registration fees that covered the start-up costs of the 187
program and were financed from the General Fund during the first year of the program for which 188
registration fees are collected in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be 189
deposited into the General Fund. 190
“(h) All distributors shall place a deposit on any beverage containers sold, offered for 191
sale, or distributed into the District. The value of the deposit shall be as follows: 192
“(1) Beginning January 1, 2028, a deposit of not less $0.10 shall be placed on any 193
beverage container sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the District. 194
“(2) Beginning January 1, 2033, a deposit of no less than $0.15 shall be placed by 195
the distributor on any beverage containers sold, offered for sale, or distributed into the District if 196
the redemption targets established in section 152 of this subtitle are not met for 2 consecutive 197
years. 198
“(3) 5 years after the effective date of any deposit increase established pursuant to 199
this section, the deposit placed on each beverage container sold by a distributor shall increase by 200
$0.05 if the redemption targets established in section 152 of this subtitle were not met for the 2 201
previous consecutive years. 202
“(i) DOEE may: 203
“(1) Set standards for the number of reverse vending machines required for 204
retailers located in underserved communities; and 205
“(2) Establish a cap for the number of empty redeemable beverage containers that 206
can be redeemed per visit at small retailers. 207
“Sec. 141. Beverage container stewardship organization. 208
“(a) On or before January 1, 2027, DOEE shall accept applications from beverage 209
container stewardship organizations to represent distributors in fulfilling the requirements of this 210

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subtitle. 211
“(b) On or before March 1, 2027, DOEE may approve, for a period not to exceed 5 years, 212
a single beverage container stewardship organization as a system operator for the program if the 213
beverage containers stewardship organization demonstrates that it has: 214
“(1) The ability, as determined by DOEE, to administer the requirements of a 215
beverage container stewardship plan under section 142; 216
“(2) A governing board consisting of distributors that represent the diversity of 217
applicable redeemable beverage containers in the market; 218
“(3) Set no unreasonable barriers to joining the beverage container stewardship 219
organization and will take into consideration the needs of small distributors that do not generate 220
a high volume of containers; 221
“(4) Adequate financial responsibility and safeguards, including fraud prevention 222
and an audit schedule; 223
“(5) The ability to secure the capital necessary for the initial investment in 224
infrastructure, sorting equipment, software, transportation, and other start-up expenses; and 225
“(6) Met any other requirements set by DOEE. 226
“(c) DOEE may renew the approval of a beverage container stewardship organization as 227
a system operator under subsection (b) of this section if the beverage container stewardship 228
organization continues to meet the requirements of this section and any other requirements set by 229
DOEE. 230
“(d)(1) DOEE shall revoke the approval of a beverage container stewardship organization 231
as a system operator if DOEE determines that the beverage container stewardship organization: 232
“(A) Failed to meet the requirements of this section; or 233
“(B) Failed to implement and administer an approved beverage container 234

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stewardship plan in accordance with section 142 of this subtitle. 235
“(2) If DOEE revokes the approval of a beverage container stewardship 236
organization as a system operator under paragraph (1) of this subsection: 237
“(A) DOEE may approve one or more additional beverage container 238
stewardship organizations to carry out the responsibilities of the previous system operator, 239
subject to one or more of the additional beverage container stewardship organizations meeting 240
the requirements specified in subsection (b) of this section; and 241
“(B) The trustee or escrow agent of the trust fund or escrow account 242
established in the beverage container stewardship plan under section 142 of this subtitle shall: 243
“(i) Receive all payments directly from distributors that would 244
have been paid to the beverage container stewardship organization; 245
“(ii) Deposit the payments received from distributors into the trust 246
fund or escrow account; and 247
“(iii) Make payments from the trust fund or escrow account as 248
directed by DOEE to implement the requirements of this part. 249
“Sec. 142. Beverage container stewardship plan. 250
“(a) On or before March 1, 2027, each beverage container stewardship organization that 251
represents at least one distributor in the District shall submit a beverage container stewardship 252
plan to DOEE. The plan shall: 253
“(1) Identify and include the contact information for each distributor intended to 254
be covered under the plan; 255
“(2) Identify each brand of redeemable beverage container intended to be sold 256
under the plan, including the size and material of the redeemable beverage containers for each 257
brand and whether the redeemable beverage containers are refillable; 258

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“(3) Describe: 259
“(A) The financing specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection; 260
“(B) How the performance targets will be met or exceeded for the 5-year 261
period following the year in which the plan is approved; 262
“(C) How stakeholder comments were considered and reflected in the 263
development of the plan, including the role of retailers and distributors in plan implementation; 264
“(D) The administration and implementation of the plan, including any 265
staffing that will be necessary for these purposes; 266
“(E) The actions that have been taken and that will be taken for public 267
outreach, education, and communication, including messaging and identification of target 268
audiences; and 269
“(F) The anticipated investments that will be made to improve the reuse of 270
beverage containers, including the source of funding for these investments; 271
“(4) List the stakeholders consulted in developing the plan; 272
“(5) Provide the anticipated costs of implementing the plan for 5 years, broken 273
down by year; 274
“(6) Include a closure and transfer plan for handling the affairs of the beverage 275
container stewardship organization that ensures that each distributor intended to be covered 276
under the beverage container stewardship plan can fulfill the distributor’s obligations in the event 277
that the beverage container stewardship organization dissolves or has its approval as a system 278
operator revoked under section 141 of this subtitle; and 279
“(7) Include any other information requested by DOEE. 280
“(b) The financing information included in a beverage container stewardship plan shall: 281
“(1) Explain the financing for direct investments or reimbursements that will 282

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improve infrastructure in a manner that supports redemption services and technologies; 283
“(2) Reflect a fee structure established in accordance with subsection (c) of this 284
section for distributors participating in a beverage container stewardship organization; 285
“(3) Describe the costs of meeting the performance targets; 286
“(4) Describe the incentives used to encourage distributors to: 287
“(A) Invest in reusable and refillable beverage container systems; and 288
“(B) Redesign beverage containers to be easier and less costly to recycle; 289
“(5) Create incentives for distributors to use a District-specific UPC barcode to 290
reduce fraudulent redemption; 291
“(6) Establish a trust fund or an escrow account in the District into which a 292
beverage container stewardship organization shall deposit all unexpended funds for use in 293
accordance with this section in the event that the beverage container stewardship organization 294
dissolves or has its approval as a system operator revoked by DOEE under Section 141 of this 295
subtitle; and 296
“(7) Meet any other requirements established by DOEE. 297
“(c)(1) A beverage container stewardship organization must establish a fee structure for 298
distributors participating in their organization. The fee structure shall be set in a manner that 299
covers the costs of administering a beverage container stewardship organization and 300
implementing the beverage container stewardship plan and based on: 301
“(A) The costs associated with transporting, collecting, and processing 302
each type of redeemable beverage container material; 303
“(B) Whether a distributor’s redeemable beverage containers are refillable; 304
“(C)Whether a distributor’s redeemable beverage containers are easy to 305
recycle; 306

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“(D) Whether a distributor’s redeemable beverage containers have a 307
District-specific UPC barcode or symbol; 308
“(E) A distributor’s portion, by material type, of redeemable beverage 309
containers sold in the District during the previous calendar year; and 310
“(F) Any other factor DOEE determines is necessary to support the 311
program. 312
“(2) A distributor selling fewer than 3.5 million redeemable beverage containers 313
in the District in the previous calendar year shall not pay more in membership fees than its 314
proportional share of all redeemable beverage containers sold in the District in the previous 315
calendar year, nor shall handling fees be factored into its membership fees. 316
“(3)(A) Except as provided in section 141(d)(2) of this subtitle, a distributor 317
participating in a beverage container stewardship organization shall pay the fee established under 318
subsection (c) of this section to the beverage container stewardship organization. 319
“(B) A beverage container stewardship organization shall deposit fees 320
received under this subparagraph to an account held by the beverage container stewardship 321
organization. 322
“(C) A beverage container stewardship organization may use the fees 323
received under this subparagraph only for implementing the beverage container stewardship plan 324
that DOEE approves. 325
“(d) DOEE shall submit a beverage container stewardship plan to an independent 326
financial auditor to ensure that the financing proposed in the plan will cover the costs of 327
implementing the plan. 328
“(e)(1) Within 120 days after receipt of a beverage container stewardship plan submitted 329
to DOEE under this section, DOEE shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the plan. 330

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“(2) In determining whether to approve, approve with conditions, or deny a 331
beverage container stewardship plan, DOEE shall consider whether: 332
“(A) The plan complies with the requirements of this section; and 333
“(B) There was sufficient engagement with stakeholders, including 334
retailers and distributors, in developing the plan. 335
“(3)(A) DOEE may rescind approval of a beverage container stewardship plan for 336
good cause. 337
“(B) A beverage container stewardship organization may amend a 338
beverage container stewardship plan whose approval was rescinded and submit the amended plan 339
to DOEE for approval. 340
“(4)(A) A beverage container stewardship plan approved by DOEE may be 341
amended with approval of DOEE. 342
“(B) DOEE may require that an approved beverage container stewardship 343
plan be amended if the report submitted under this subtitle reflects that the performance targets 344
have not been met. 345
“(d) An approved beverage container stewardship plan expires at the end of 5 years. 346
“(e)(1) A beverage container stewardship organization shall implement and administer a 347
beverage container stewardship plan within 6 months after the plan is approved. 348
“(2) In implementing and administering a beverage container stewardship plan, a 349
beverage container stewardship organization shall: 350
“(A) Facilitate logistics, the initiation of deposits, and the issuance of 351
refunds to retailers under the plan; 352
“(B) Coordinate the logistics for collecting redeemable beverage 353
containers from retailers; 354

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“(C) Establish procedures for tracking redeemable beverage containers 355
sold in the District; 356
“(D) Design and operate services for the transportation and processing of 357
redeemable beverage containers; 358
“(E) Develop and implement a plan for establishing, operating, and 359
managing redemption facilities that will offer a wide range of convenient redemption locations 360
and technologies that are easy to use, accessible, and meet or exceed any convenience standards 361
established by DOEE under section 140 of this subtitle. 362
“(F) Develop and implement a plan for the distribution, operation, and 363
maintenance of beverage container redemption and processing methods, including reverse 364
vending machines, bag drop programs, and account-based bulk processing programs; 365
“(G) Develop accounting and control standards; 366
“(H) Implement accounting, audit, payment, and reporting procedures; 367
“(I) Market redeemable beverage container materials for reuse in the 368
manufacturing of similar products; 369
“(J) Fund a marketing program to educate the public about the program, 370
including at least one outreach event annually in each ward of the District; 371
“(K) Establish a system for reporting key information gathered by the 372
program to DOEE on a quarterly basis; and 373
“(L) Create incentives for the development of refillable and reusable 374
beverage container systems. 375
“(3) Upon request by DOEE, a beverage container stewardship organization shall 376
submit a copy of its financial records to the agency for a financial audit. 377
“Sec. 143. Annual reporting. 378

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“(a) A beverage container stewardship organization in the District with an approved 379
beverage container stewardship plan shall annually report to DOEE: 380
“(1) The total number of beverage containers sold, offered for sale, and 381
distributed into the District during the prior calendar year; 382
“(2) The number of single-use beverage containers sold, offered for sale, and 383
distributed into the District during the prior calendar year; 384
“(3) The number of reusable beverage containers sold, offered for sale, and 385
distributed into the District during the prior calendar year; 386
“(4) A breakdown of the material type of all beverage containers sold, offered for 387
sale, and distributed into the District during the prior calendar year; 388
“(5) Information regarding the quantity and final destination of redeemed 389
beverage containers sold, offered for sale, and distributed into the District during the prior 390
calendar year; 391
“(6) The number of empty redeemable beverage containers redeemed; 392
“(7) The number of empty redeemable beverage containers redeemed at each 393
redemption facility, reverse vending machine, bag drop program, account-based bulk processing 394
program, or other beverage container redemption and processing method sorted by material type, 395
refund value, and whether the empty redeemable beverage container can be refilled or reused; 396
“(8) The progress made toward meeting the performance targets during the prior 397
calendar year; 398
“(9) If the performance targets were not met, a description of the actions proposed 399
to meet the performance targets; 400
“(10) The amount of each type of: 401
“(A) Redeemable beverage container material sold in the District; and 402

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“(B) Scrap material sold by a beverage container stewardship 403
organization; 404
“(11) The location of each redemption facility in the District and the redemption 405
methods used at each redemption facility; 406
“(12) A description of any improvements made to make returning redeemable 407
beverage containers easier and more convenient; 408
“(13) The identification and description of areas that do not have readily available 409
options for redeeming an empty redeemable beverage container and actions the beverage 410
container stewardship organization will take to improve redemption options in these areas; 411
“(14) The number of consumer complaints per month, sorted by redemption 412
facility; 413
“(15) The number of individuals and organizations with accounts established for 414
the receipt of electronic deposits or refunds; 415
“(16) The total cost of implementing the beverage container stewardship plan, as 416
determined by an independent financial auditor under section 142 of this subtitle; 417
“(17) A copy of the audit conducted under section 142 of this subtitle; 418
“(18) The average cost of processing an empty redeemed redeemable beverage 419
container; 420
“(19) Financial statements detailing all deposits received and refunds issued by 421
each distributor covered under the beverage container stewardship plan; 422
“(20) The total amount of deposits initiated, refunds issued, and unclaimed 423
deposits collected under the beverage container stewardship plan; 424
“(21) An accounting of all activities and investments financed by unclaimed 425
deposits; 426

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“(22) Expenditures and revenues sorted by source, including fees paid under 427
Section 142 of this subtitle, revenue from the sale of scrap materials, and unclaimed deposits; 428
“(23) Samples of all educational materials provided to consumers, retailers, and 429
other entities; 430
“(24) A detailed description of investments made in new redemption facilities and 431
redemption methods; 432
“(25) The locations of any new redemption facilities and redemption methods; 433
“(26) A detailed description of changes made by distributors to increase the 434
recyclability of redeemable beverage containers; 435
"(27) A detailed description of any incidents of fraud and efforts taken to prevent 436
fraud; 437
“(28) Any other information required by DOEE. 438
“(b) The financial, production, and sales data of individual distributors reported to DOEE 439
under this section shall be kept confidential by DOEE. 440
“(c) DOEE shall post the report submitted under this section on DOEE’s website in a 441
manner that protects the confidentiality of the data specified under subsection (b) of this section. 442
“Sec. 143. Handling fee. 443
“(a) A retailer, redemption facility, or other person that accepts beverage containers for 444
redemption shall be reimbursed by the beverage container stewardship organization for the 445
handling of each empty beverage container redeemed. 446
“(b) The handling fee shall be set at $.04. 447
“(c) Beginning 5 years after the effective date of this act, DOEE shall increase the 448
handling fee by $0.01 each year that the agency determines an increase is necessary to encourage 449
the establishment of more redemption facilities or other redemption options. 450

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“Sec. 144. Deposit refunds. 451
“(a)(1) A redemption facility established pursuant to this subtitle shall accept all types of 452
beverage containers sold in the District for redemption. 453
“(2) A person shall apply to the Department of Licensing and Consumer 454
Protection for a license to operate a redemption facility in the District. 455
“(3) The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection shall develop 456
standards and a licensing process for the establishment and operation of redemption facilities. 457
“(b) A retailer shall accept from a person seeking to redeem beverage containers at their 458
place of business any empty beverage container during any period that they are open for 459
business, regardless of whether the specific beverage container was sold by the retailer, provided 460
that the beverage container is made of the same types of material as beverage containers sold by 461
the dealer. 462
“(c) A retailer or redemption facility may accept beverage containers for redemption 463
through direct take-back, reverse vending machines, a bag drop program, an account-based bulk 464
processing program, or other redemption methods as approved by DOEE. Retailers shall 465
establish and maintain a dedicated area within their place of business to accept beverage 466
containers for redemption. Retailers and redemption facilities shall provide to a redeemer with 467
redeemable beverage containers the full deposit value of the redeemed beverage container. 468
“(d) A retailer or redemption facility may refuse to redeem a beverage container provided 469
that: 470
“(1) The beverage container is not clean; 471
“(2) The beverage container is broken; 472
“(3) The beverage container contains material foreign to the normal contents of 473
the container; or 474

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“(4) The retailer or redemption facility believes the beverage container was not 475
sold in the District. 476
“(e) Refunds provided for an empty redeemed beverage container shall be: 477
“(1) In cash; 478
“(2) In the form of a receipt from a reverse vending machine provided that: 479
“(A) The receipt can be exchanged for cash within 60 days after the 480
receipt is issued; and 481
“(B) There is no requirement that other goods be purchased to receive the 482
cash refund; or 483
“(3) Credited to an account by the receiver of the empty redeemable beverage 484
container so that the redeemer can receive the refund or a refund receipt within a specified 485
number of days, as determined by DOEE, after redeeming the beverage container. 486
“Sec. 145. Collection of beverage containers. 487
“(a) A beverage stewardship organization shall accept from a retailer or redemption 488
center any empty beverage containers of the design, shape, size, color, composition, and brand 489
sold, distributed, or offered for sale by a distributor in the District and shall pay the retailer or 490
redemption center the handling fee established pursuant to section 143 of this subtitle for each 491
such beverage container. 492
“(b) A beverage container stewardship organization shall accept and redeem all such 493
empty beverage containers from a retailer or redemption center without limitation on quantity. 494
“(c) A beverage container stewardship organization’s failure to accept empty beverage 495
containers from a retailer or redemption center shall constitute a violation of this subtitle. 496
“Sec. 146. Collection agents. 497
“(a) All collection agents operating in the District shall be licensed in the District and 498

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registered with DOEE prior to commencing operation, and annually thereafter. 499
“(b) A collection agent is required to perform all the collection functions of the beverage 500
stewardship organization with whom they contract unless expressly exempted in the contractual 501
agreement between the parties. 502
“(c) Collection agents shall annually provide to DOEE up-to-date lists of beverage 503
container stewardship organizations with whom they have entered into contracts. 504
“(d) Each collection agent shall notify DOEE when: 505
“(1) It enters into a new contract with a distributor or deposit initiator; and 506
“(2)A collection contract expires without being renewed. 507
“Sec. 147. Curbside collection of beverage containers. 508
“(a) The Mayor may approve procedures allowing curbside recycling collectors to be 509
paid a processing payment for beverage containers collected, processed, sorted, and delivered to 510
distributors for recycling, so long as the beverage containers collected are clean, sorted, and 511
baled. The processing payment shall not exceed the value of the handling fee set by DOEE 512
pursuant to section 143 of this subtitle. Processing payments to collectors shall not continue past 513
January 1, 2030. 514
“(b) Beverage containers collected, processed, sorted, and delivered to distributors by 515
recycling collectors shall not be included in the calculations of the performance targets set in 516
section 152 of this subtitle. 517
“Sec. 148. Labeling of beverage containers. 518
“(a) Any manufacturer of a beverage container to be sold in the District shall include on 519
the label of each beverage sold in the District: 520
“(1) A clearly visible standardized description of the applicable refund value of 521
the container; and 522

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“(2) A Universal Product Code. 523
“Sec. 149. Fraudulent redemption. 524
“(a) No person shall pay, claim, or receive any deposit value, processing payment, or 525
handling fee for any of the following: 526
“(1) A beverage container that the person knew, or should have known, was 527
brought into the District solely for the purpose of being redeemed; and 528
“(2) A previously redeemed beverage container, rejected container, line breakage, 529
or other ineligible material. 530
“(b) No person, with intent to defraud, shall redeem or attempt to redeem an out-of-state 531
container, a rejected container, a previously redeemed container, line breakage, or other 532
ineligible material. 533
“Sec. 150. Management of deposits. 534
“(a) A deposit initiator shall deposit any deposits collected under section 140 of this 535
subtitle into a deposit collection account that is maintained separately from all other revenues. 536
“(b) A deposit initiator shall transfer 100% of all deposits to the beverage container 537
stewardship organization of which they are a member by the tenth day of each month. 538
“(c) A beverage container stewardship organization shall deposit any deposits transferred 539
to the organization under this Section into a deposit collection account that is maintained 540
separately from all other revenues. 541
“(d) The funds in the deposit collection account may be used only to pay the refund value 542
of an empty redeemable beverage container being redeemed. 543
“(e) A deposit initiator shall report to the beverage container stewardship organization by 544
the tenth day of each month, the following information: 545
“(1) The number of beverage containers sold, and empty redeemable beverage 546

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containers redeemed in the previous month; 547
“(2) The funds deposited into the deposit collection account in the previous 548
month; 549
“(3) Any income earned on the funds in the deposit collection account in the 550
previous month; 551
“(4) The balance of the deposit collection account; and 552
“(5) Any other information required by DOEE. 553
“(f) DOEE shall determine the point at which a deposit becomes an unclaimed deposit. 554
“(g) Unclaimed deposits are calculated as the amount of funds transferred to a deposit 555
collection account that are in excess of the sum of: 556
“(1) Any interest earnings on the deposit collection account during the time for 557
which unclaimed deposits are being calculated; and 558
“(2) The total amount of the refund value received for the empty redeemable 559
beverage containers redeemed during the time for which the unclaimed deposits are being 560
calculated. 561
“(h) A beverage container stewardship organization shall transfer 75% of all unclaimed 562
deposits to DOEE by the 20th day of each month. The beverage container stewardship 563
organization shall use the remaining funds in the reserve account to: 564
“(1) Achieve the objectives of the beverage container stewardship organization’s 565
plan, as outlined in section 142 of this subtitle. 566
“(i) Amounts collected by DOEE pursuant to this section shall be retained by the agency 567
to cover any outstanding costs of overseeing and administering the program. All remaining funds 568
shall be: 569
“(1) Returned to approved beverage container stewardship organizations, if the 570

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redemption rate for the previous year was at least 95%; or 571
“(2) Transferred to the District Recycling Fund, as established by section 151 of 572
this subtitle, if the redemption rate for the previous year was less than 95%. 573
“Sec. 151. Establishment of the District Recycling Fund. 574
“(a) There is established as a nonlapsing fund the District Recycling Fund “Fund”. The 575
unclaimed deposits transferred to DOEE as required by section 144 of this subtitle shall be 576
deposited in the fund. The Fund shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in subsection (b) 577
of the section and shall be administered by the Director of the Department of Energy and 578
Environment. 579
“(b) The Fund shall be used solely for the following purposes: 580
“(1) To cover the costs to the District of implementation and oversight as required 581
by this subtitle; 582
“(2) To provide NSF/ANSI 53 water filters to low-income residents whose lead 583
service lines have not been replaced; 584
“(3) The installation of reverse vending machines; 585
“(4) The installation of water bottle refill stations in public spaces in the District; 586
and 587
“(5) Other programs to increase beverage container reuse and refill in the District. 588
“(c) Revenue from the following sources shall be deposited in the Fund: 589
“(1) Unclaimed deposits transferred to DOEE pursuant to section 144. 590
“(2) Civil fines and penalties collected pursuant to section 154; and 591
“(3) Registration fees from distributors collected pursuant to section 140. 592
“(d)(1) The money deposited into the Fund shall not revert to unrestricted fund balance of 593
the General Fund of the District of Columbia at the end of a fiscal year, or any other time. 594

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“(2) Subject to authorization in an approved budget and financial plan, any funds 595
appropriated in the Fund shall be continually available without regard to fiscal year limitation. 596
“Sec. 152. Performance targets. 597
“(a) Redemption rate performance targets for the program are as follows: 598
“(1) A 75% redemption rate by December 31, 2028; 599
“(2) A 90% redemption rate by December 31, 2031; 600
“(3) A 95% redemption rate by December 31, 2034; 601
“(b) Recycling rate performance targets for the program are as follows: 602
“(4) A 70% recycling rate by December 31, 2028; 603
“(5) A 80% recycling rate by December 31, 2031; and 604
“(6) A 85% recycling rate by December 31, 2034. 605
“Sec. 153. Disposal ban. 606
“(a) Beginning January 1, 2027, no distributor shall dispose of beverage containers in the 607
District by methods other than beverage container recycling, or other methods approved by the 608
Mayor. 609
“Sec. 154. Rules, enforcement, and fees. 610
“(a) The Mayor, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure 611
Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 St. 1204; D.C. Official Code Sec. 2-501 et seq.), may issue 612
rules to implement the provisions of this subtitle. 613
“(b)(1) The Mayor may impose civil fines and penalties for violations of the provisions of 614
this subtitle or any rules issued pursuant to this subtitle, pursuant to section 3201 of Title 16 of 615
the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (16 DCMR § 3201). 616
“(3) Fees, penalties, and fines collected under this subtitle shall be deposited in 617
the District Recycling Fund established by section 151 of this Act. 618

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“(c)(1) For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this subtitle, or any rule issued 619
pursuant to this subtitle, the Mayor may, upon 48 hours’ written notice and the presentation of 620
appropriate credentials to the owner, operator, or agent in charge, enter upon any public or 621
private property in a reasonable and lawful manner during normal business hours for the purpose 622
of inspection and observation. 623
“(2) If denied access to any place or any information while carrying out the 624
activities described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Mayor may apply to a court of 625
competent jurisdiction for a search warrant. 626
“(d)(1) Beginning January 1, 2033, a beverage container stewardship organization that 627
has not reached the redemption rates established in section 152 of this subtitle for the 628
immediately preceding two years is subject to an administrative penalty. 629
“(2) Each year that a beverage container stewardship organization does not meet 630
the redemption rates established in Section 152 of this subtitle is a separate violation under this 631
subsection. 632
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 633
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 634
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 635
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 636
Sec. 4. Effective date. 637
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 638
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 639
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 640
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 641
Columbia Register. 642