Bottle Bill Resource Guide

Connecticut Bottle Bill History

 Original Law1983 Amendment1986 Amendment2009 Expansion2021 ExpansionCurrent Law
Name Beverage Container Deposit and Redemption Law
Purpose Litter reduction and recycling
Enacted 4/12/1978     3/3/2009 June 16, 2021  
Implemented 1/1/1980   6/9/1986 4/1/2009 (for water bottles)
4/30/2009 (for unclaimed deposits)

October 1, 2021 ("nips" fee, RVM requirement, etc.)

The rest of the bill will be implemented from dates ranging from 4/1/2022 to 1/1/2024. A summary of the bill and implementation dates can be found here.

 

 1/1/2023
Beverages Covered Beer, malt, carbonated soft drinks, carbonated mineral water     Water bottles added Expanded to include non-carbonated beverages, hard seltzer, and hard cider. (1/1/2023)

Beer and malt beverages, Hard seltzers (except spirit-based seltzers), Hard cider, carbonated beverages (including mineral water and soda water), non-carbonated water (including flavored water and plant-infused water), juice, tea, coffee, kombucha, plant-infused drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks [1]
Containers Covered Any individual, separate, sealed glass, metal or plastic bottle, can, jar or carton containing a beverage.     Excludes HDPE containers   Any individual, separate, sealed glass, metal or plastic bottle, can, jar or carton containing a beverage. [2] Excluded are containers <150mL, carbonated beverage containers over 3L, and noncarbonated beverage containers over 1.5L.
Amount of Deposit 5¢       Expanded to at least 10¢ (1/1/2024) 5¢ (10¢ on 1/1/2024)
Redemption Rate No statistics available       Stewardship program to establish minimum 80% redemption rate (7/1/2022) FY2021:  46.2% [3]
Reclamation System Retail stores and redemption centers       Certain retail chain stores now required to have at least 2 reverse vending machines (RVMs). (October 1, 2021) Retail stores and redemption centers. RVMs at certain retail stores.
Unredeemed Deposits Retained by distributor/bottler     Returned to State Shared between distributors and the state. Increasing from 5% for the 2022-2023 fiscal year up to 55% for the 2025 fiscal year and beyond. (10/1/2021) Revenue-sharing between distributors and the state (FY 2022-2023: 5% kept by distributors)
Handling Fee 1¢ Variable rate implemented: Beer 1¢, other beverages 2¢ Beer fee raised to 1.5¢   Increased to 2.5¢ for beers and 3.5¢ for all other beverages (10/1/2021) Beer 2.5¢, other beverages 3.5¢
Notes "Dislocation fund" for workers who lost their jobs due to bottle bill      
  • 5¢ fee (separate from deposit system) put on Liquor "nips" bottles 50 mL or less. (10/1/2021)
  • $5 million grant program to establish new redemption centers in underserved areas (10/1/2021)
  • Liquor wholesalers must report where & how many nips were sold in previous 6-month period, and remit fees to state for distribution to municipalities (4/1/2022)
  

Footnotes

[1] Prohibits metal containers with removable tabs and containers with non-biodegradable holders (i.e. plastic 6-pack rings) from being sold in the state

[2] This is further explained on the Connecticut Bottle Bill FAQ page as follows: "Effective April 1, 2009, 'noncarbonated beverages' are now included in the Bottle Bill. For this section of the law, 'noncarbonated beverages' means water, including flavored water, nutritionally enhanced water and any beverage that is identified through the use of letters, words or symbols on such beverage's product label as a type of water, but excluding juice and mineral water." Mineral water is included in the law, but is considered a carbonated beverage.

[3] "CT Bottle Redemption Data." Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). 2021.

 

Last Updated on January 26, 2024.