Guam 2008 bill text

Bill # 244

The Recycling Act of 2009

The following text was found at http://www.guamlegislature.com/29th_Guam_Legislature/Bills_Introduced_29th/Bill%20No%20244%20(LS)..pdf

-
2008 (SECOND) Regular Session * 9.
Bill No. aqf (LS) j',
c&
Introduced by: T.R. Muiia Barnes ,
A-
AN ACT TO ADD A NEW CHAPTER
CODE ANNOTATED RELATIVE TO THE "RECYCLING ACT
OF 2009" AND TO ESTABLISH A RECYCLING DEPOSIT
FUND SEPARATE AND APART FROM ALL OTHER FUNDS
WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT OF GUAM; TO ADD NEW
976221 TO CHAPTER 76 ARTICLE 2 OF TITLE 11 GUAM
CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO ENDORSEMENT OF
RECYCLING REDEMPTION CENTERS; TO ADD NEW 915104
TO CHAPTER 15, DIVISION 2 OF CHAPTER 11 GUAM CODE
ANNOTATED RELATIVE TO REMITTANCE OF RECYCLING
DEPOSIT FEES; TO AMEND SUBITEM (8) OF 9 26102 TITLE 11
GUAM CODE ANNOTATED RELATIVE TO FORMS; AND TO
REQUIRE THE CONFIRMATION OF THE VOLUNTARY
COOPERATION OF MILITARY COMMANDS WITH A
GUAM BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING PROGRAM
PRIOR TO ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF ANY
BEVERAGE CONTAINER DEPOSIT FEES.
1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF GUAM:
2 Section 1. Legislative Findings and Intent. I Liheslaturan Guahdn
3 finds that the residents of Guam have become members of a disposable
4 society, and our people generate an enormous quantity of solid waste,
5 up to three pounds per person per day, or nearly 100,000 tons of refuse
per year. As our population and number of visitors increase, and the
military buildup continues, our volume of solid waste rises in
proportion.
I Lilzeslaturan further finds that any environmentally and
economically sound solid waste management system must incorporate a
number of different features, and recycling is included among them.
Recycling is a means of further protecting our environment and
reducing the volume of refuse that will either take up valuable space in
our landfills or be eliminated through other means.
I Lilzeslaturan further finds that the implementation of laws that
impose fees or deposits on recyclable items will promote recycling and
give people the financial incentive to get into a recycling habit. Deposits
on recyclable items will also assist in preserving our environment, make
our island home more attractive and greatly reduce litter, which some
have estimated is 50% beverage containers.
A common recycling deposit program implemented in a number
of communities across the nation is commonly referred to as a "bottle
bill." The first bottle bill became law in the state of Vermont in 1953,
requiring that beer be sold only in refillable bottles. Current bottle bills
impose fees or deposits on beverage containers of all lunds, even those
that are not bottles, and encourage the use of containers that are
refillable or otherwise recyclable.
I Likeslatnuan further finds that at present, 11 states have
implemented bottle bills requiring rehndable deposits on certain
beverage containers. They are: California, Connecticut, Delaware,
Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michgan, New York, Oregon and
Vermont. Seven additional states are considering bottle bills at this time:
Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
and West Virginia. More than half of the population of the United States
lives in an area where container deposit programs are in place.
Bottle bills have proven to be effective in some areas within
Micronesia, assisting in providing a cleaner, healthier environment:
Both the Republic of Kiribati and Kosrae in the Federated States of
Micronesia have enacted container recycling programs, and the
Republic of Palau has considered implementing a bottle bill program.
Despite the presence of voluntary recycling programs, the states
that do not have bottle bills recycle less than 40% of their beverage
containers, as opposed to the 80% recycling rate for bottle bill states. The
11 bottle bill states recycle more beverage containers than the other 39
states combined.
1 Liheslaturan further finds that previous efforts to implement a
bottle bill recycling program have failed primarily because of the refusal
of military commands to be an active participant. A Judge Advocate
General officer once replied to a request concerning a bottle bill program
by stating that the military cannot be subject to "monetary schemes"
without "a waiver of sovereign immunity." This refusal flies in the face
of the military's standard practice across the 50 states in whch they
voluntarily participate in local bottle bill programs.
This strong indication of the lack of intent of the military
commands to cooperate with the local community has led to delays in
the local community putting a beverage container deposit recycling
program into place because of the high number of beverages sold at
commissaries and exchanges that end up in the local community.
Recent conversations concerning recycling with Assistant Navy
Secretary B.J. Penn and Major General David Bice, Executive Director of
the Joint Guam Program Office have led to a more reasonable position
between the military and civilian communities, with Secretary Penn and
General Bice agreeing that where recycling efforts are concerned, the
Federal government should treat Guam no differently than it treats the
50 states.
Rear Admiral William D. French, Commander Naval Forces
Marianas, and Brigadier General Douglas Owens, Commander 36th
Wing, have indicated through their JAG offices that their previous
position has changed and they are now very motivated to work with the
local community to implement and voluntarily participate in a bottle bill
program.
In addition, I Liheslatura finds that the most recent defense
authorization act is now requiring commissaries and exchanges to begin
obtaining certain beverages from Guam wholesale distributors, an act
that adds an additional avenue to utilize to impose and collect deposits.
It is therefore the intent of I Liheslatrrran to create the "Recycling
Act of 2009," under the direction of the Guam Environmental Protection
Agency, to begin the process of implementing a deposit bottle bill in
Guam with the goal of full implementation by October 1,2009.
It is the additional intent of I Liheslatzrran to provide the caveat that
the "Recycling Act of 2009" shall not be implemented unless and until
the military commissaries and exchanges in Guam also voluntarily
participate in the program in order to ensure that all retail facilities in
Guam, in both the civilian and military communities, collect deposits on
beverage containers under the guidelines of the Act.
It is the additional intent of 1 Liheslaturan to provide the Act with
enough flexibility so that the definition and identification of recyclable
materials upon which fees or deposits may be placed may be amended
from time to time depending upon technological advances, economic
conditions, waste stream characteristics, environmental effects, or other
factors.
Section 2. A new Chapter 44 is added to Title 10 Guam Code
Annotated Division 2 to read:
"CHAPTER 44
RECYCLING ACT OF 2009
544101. Short Title.
$44102. Statement of Policy.
$44103. Definitions.
$44104. Goals for Waste Stream Reduction.
$44105. Recycling Deposit Fee and Payout.
544106. Acceptance of Containers.
544107. Redemption Centers.
544108. Remitting Collected Deposit Fees.
544109. Recycling Deposit Fund.
544110. Claims for Reimbursement.
5441 11. Reverse Vending Machine Requirements.
$44112. Rules to be Adopted.
$44113. Certain Beverage Wholesalers to Collect and Remit
Deposits.
§44101. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the Recycling
Act of 2009.
544102. Statement of Policy. Communities throughout the
world including many in the mainland United States and even in
our island neighbors of Kiribati and Kosrae have found that
recycling has been effective in reducing their enormous volume of
solid waste and reducing threats to their environment caused by
pollution.
In Guam, our environment is precious, vulnerable and
irreplaceable. No individual, public entity or private corporation
has the right to pollute our air, water, or soil. The people of Guam
have an ongoing responsibility to conserve, preserve, and enhance
our natural resources and island beauty, and to guarantee their
continued existence and enjoyment now and for future
generations.
The rapidly rising volume of waste deposited by society has
already created a biologcal nightmare at our present dump, and
will likely threaten the capacity of future landfills unless action is
taken. The nature of waste disposal today means that unknown
quantities of potentially toxic and hazardous materials are being
improperly disposed of by dumping and burial. These materials
pose a constant threat to our precious groundwater supply. In
addition, the nature of the waste and disposal methods utilized
allow the waste to remain basically inert for decades, if not
centuries, without decomposition.
Some of the waste filling our dump today and bound for our
landfills tomorrow may represent a potential resource, but
without proper management these wastes will continue to be
hazards to the environment and to life itself.
The reduction of solid waste at its source and the recycling
of reusable waste materials will reduce the flow of waste to dumps
and landfills and increase the supply of reusable materials for use
and reuse by the public.
The United States Government, our Armed Forces,
numerous businesses and many concerned citizens in Guam have
already adopted environmentally friendly policies and habits to
encourage the purchase, use and re-use of biodegradable,
recyclable and recycled products. Many are presently recycling
those products for which recycling avenues are available in Guam.
It is therefore the policy of t h s department to establish a
mechanism that will provide incentives to aid the entire recycling
process as it relates to those products for which additional use
may be found, either in Guam or off-island, and to set achievable
goals for waste stream reduction in the coming years.
544103. Definitions. As used in this Chapter:
(a) Administrator means the Administrator of the Guam
Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) Beverage means all beverages for human
consumption. For purposes of this Chapter the term beverage
shall not include items sold in a non-liquid, or frozen form
or liquid intended for medicinal purposes only.
(c) Beverage container means the individual, separate,
sealed glass, high density polyethylene, metal, plastic bottle,
can, jar, or carton, with a total volume of less than or equal
to sixty-four fluid ounces, used for containing, at the time of
sale to the consumer, a beverage intended for use or
consumption. Beverage containers may be for single use or
for multiple use.
(d) Board means the Board of Directors of the Guam
Environmental Protection Agency.
(e) Consumer means every person who purchases a
recyclable product for use or consumption.
(f) Dealer means every person who engages in the sale
of recyclable products to a consumer for use or consumption
off the premises.
(g) Department means the Guam Environmental
Protection Agency.
(h) Deposit fee means the amount added to the listed
price of a product that the consumer must pay to the dealer
or distributor as a deposit for each individual beverage
container that has been identified by the department as
recyclable and requiring a deposit. An amount equivalent to
at least 75% of the deposit fee shall be returned to the
redeemer when the redeemer sells the container to a
redemption center. No taxes shall be assessed or collected on
deposit fees accepted by dealers for products approved in
this Chapter 44 for recycling purposes.
(i) Distributor means every person who engages in the
sale or distribution of recyclable products to a dealer in
Guam, including any manufacturer who engages in such
sales.
( j ) Import means to buy, bring, or accept delivery of
deposit beverage containers from an address, supplier, or
any entity outside of Guam.
(k) Importer means any person who buys, brings, or
accepts delivery of deposit beverage containers from outside
of Guam for sale or use within Guam.
(I) Manufacturer means every person producing
recyclable products including those who package or fill
recyclable products for sale to distributors or dealers.
(m) On-premises conszrmption means to consume
deposit beverages by a consumer immediately and within
the area under control of the establishment, including bars,
restaurants, passenger ships, and airplanes.
(n) Person means an individual, corporation, company,
association, partnership, federal agency, or agency of the
government of Guam.
(0) Recycling facility means all contiguous land and
structures and other appurtenances, and improvements on
the land used for the collection, separation, recovery, and
sale or reuse of resources that would otherwise be disposed
of as municipal solid waste, and is an integral part of a
manufacturing process aimed at producing a marketable
product made of post-consumer material whether
manufactured locally or produced off-island.
(p) Redeemer means a person, other than a dealer or
distributor, who demands at least 75% of the refund value in
exchange for an empty deposit beverage container.
(q) Redemption center means an operation that accepts
empty deposit beverage containers from redeemers and
provides at least 75% of the refund value for empty deposit
beverage containers intended to be recycled and ensures that
the empty deposit beverage containers are properly
recycled.
(r) Refillable beverage container means any deposit
beverage container, w l c h ordinarily would be returned to
the manufacturer to be refilled and resold.
(s) Refilnd amount means the amount of the deposit fee
refunded to a redeemer, which shall be at least 75% of the
total amount of deposit fee paid per container.
(t) Reverse vending machine means a mechanical device,
which accepts one or more types of empty deposit beverage
containers and issues coins or a redeemable credit slip with a
value not less than the container's refund value.
544104. Goals for Waste Stream Reduction.
The goal of this Act is to reduce the amount of material in
our waste stream by a minimum of five percent (5%) each year
from 2010 to 2016, achieving a thirty-five percent (35%) reduction
by the year 2016 through the practice of waste volume reduction at
the source and through recycling. Should a facility or facilities that
employ combustion of solid waste and refuse-derived fuel with
energy recovery become operational in Guam prior to 2016 as a
component of an approved comprehensive plan, then waste
reduction goals shall increase by an additional five percent (5%)
each year, beginning with the first full year that the waste to
energy plant is in operation.
544105. Recycling Deposit Fee and Payout.
(a) A deposit fee of not less than five cents (50) shall be
levied upon and paid by the consumer on each beverage
container described in 944103 (c) and sold in Guam by a
dealer for consumption off the premises, subject to the
following:
(1) Types of containers upon which deposit fees
shall be levied must be first approved by the Board for
placement upon a list of containers identified for
recycling;
(2) Containers may not be placed upon list of
containers identified for recycling unless a process to
recycle, reuse, or physically remove containers from
Guam has been established or will be established
concurrent with placement upon said list.
(b) Except as contained in § 44113 of t h s chapter,
retailers selling beverages in containers described in
§44105(a) of t h s chapter shall collect such deposit fee for
each container and remit collections as provided in S44107 of
this chapter.
(c) Collection of the deposit fee imposed upon all
beverage containers shall begin effective July 1,2009.
(d) Upon return of an empty beverage container upon
whch a deposit fee has been paid to a Redemption Center
and acceptance of the empty beverage container by the
redemption center, at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the
amount of the refund value shall be returned to the
redeemer. Refunds of deposits shall begin effective October
1, 2009.
(1) The provisions of subsection (d) of this
section apply only to beverage containers approved by
rules adopted by the Board.
(e) A person operating a redemption center may
compact empty metal beverage containers with the approval
of the recycling facility required to accept the containers.
(f) The Board upon recommendation of the director
shall from time to time examine and may elect to increase
either the deposit fee or the percentage of the refund value
returned to the redeemer or both as provided in s44109 of
this Act.
s44106. Acceptance of Containers. Except as may be
provided elsewhere in this act, a redemption center shall not
refuse to accept from a consumer any empty beverage container
described in 544103 (b), or refuse to pay to the consumer the
refund value of a beverage container as provided in 544104.
544107. Redemption Centers.
(a) To facilitate the return of empty beverage
containers, any person may establish a redemption center,
subject to the approval of the department and appropriate
business licensing, at w l c h consumers may return empty
beverage containers and receive payment of the refund
value of such beverage containers.
(b) An application for approval of a Redemption
Center shall be filed with the department. The application
shall state the name and address of the person responsible
for the establishment and operation of the Redemption
Center, the land of beverage containers that will be accepted
at the Redemption Center, and the names of the distributor
or distributors that will be handling and exporting their
recyclables, if different from the name of the operator of the
Redemption Center. The application shall contain such other
information as the director may reasonably require.
(c) The department shall approve a Redemption Center
if it finds that the Redemption Center will provide a
convenient service to consumers for the return of empty
beverage containers. The order of the department approving
a Redemption Center shall state the lund of empty beverage
containers which the Redemption Center must accept. The
order may contain such other provisions to insure that the
Redemption Center will provide a convenient service to the
public as the director may determine. Applicants shall be
appropriately licensed by the Department of Revenue and
Taxation.
(d) The department may review the approval of any
Redemption Center at any time. After written notice to the
person responsible for the establishment and operation of
the Redemption Center, the department may, after hearing,
withdraw approval of a Redemption Center if the
department finds there has not been compliance with the
department's order approving the Redemption Center, or if
the Redemption Center no longer provides a convenient
service to the public.
(e) All approved Redemption Centers shall meet
applicable health standards.
(f) The department shall prepare printed material to be
posted at dealer locations in conspicuous areas identifying
the location of approved Redemption Centers and specifying
what type of recyclable materials may be deposited at each
center.
s44108. Remitting Collected Deposit Fees. Dealers shall
remit all deposits collected each month in the same manner and on
the same form utilized to remit Gross Receipts Taxes, payable to
the Treasurer of Guam, and subject to the requirements of the
department and of the Department of Revenue & Taxation.
344109. Recycling Deposit Fund.
(a) There is withn the Government of Guam and
under the control of the department a Recycling Deposit
Fund, which is hereby created, into which the proceeds from
recycling deposit fees as provided in §4-4108 of Chapter 44 of
Title 10 Guam Code Annotated are deposited.
(b) The Recycling Deposit Fund shall be administered
separate and apart from any other fund of the Government
and shall not be subject to any transfer authority of the
Governor or appropriation by the Legislature except as
provided in this Chapter 44.
(c) The funds remitted into the Recycling Deposit Fund
shall be used only for the following purposes:
(1) reimbursements to Redemption Centers of
amounts refunded to redeemers;
(2) expenses related to administer the provisions
of this Chapter 44.
544110. Claims for Reimbursement. Claims for
reimbursements to Redemption Centers of refund amount shall be
made in the manner and on the forms specified by the
department.
544111. Reverse Vending Machine Requirements. Reverse
vending machines may be used by redemption centers to satisfy
the requirements of Chapter 44, provided that the reverse vending
machine shall accept one or more types of empty deposit beverage
containers and shall pay out appropriate refunds as coins or via a
redeemable credit slip with a value not less than the refund value
of the container or containers being redeemed. Reverse vending
machnes shall be routinely serviced to ensure proper operation
and continuous acceptance of containers and payment of refunds.
g44112. Rules to be Adopted.
(a) The Board shall convene an advisory committee to
assist in the development of all rules needed to implement
this Chapter 44. Members of the committee shall be selected
to assess the impact on consumers, recyclers, the military,
and the beverage industry. Members of the committee shall
be appointed by the administrator and shall serve at the
administrator's pleasure. A simple majority of the committee
members shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of
recommending rules and providing input to the Board.
(b) The Board may adopt rules pursuant to t h s chapter
44 as may be necessary to carry out its provisions.
Amendments to such Rules may be considered and adopted
from time to time to replace or supplement such rules as
may be in existence, to include:
(1) identifying items to be recycled in addition
to beverage containers;
(2) establishing or revising appropriate
deposit fees and refund values;
(3) regulating redemption centers and the
redemption process for recyclable items; and
(4) establishing and revising appropriate
forms and procedures to reimburse Redemption
Centers applying for refund amounts.
§ 44113. Certain Beverage Wholesalers to Collect and
Remit Deposits.
Wholesalers licensed in Guam that meet the conditions
described in items 1 through 3 below shall, on a monthly basis,
remit an amount for deposits for such beverage containers as
described pursuant to § 44112 of this chapter equal to the amount
of the deposit as described in 44105 (a) of t h s chapter multiplied
by the number of containers that have been purchased on which
the deposit is applied, and for which payment has been received
by the wholesaler in the previous calendar month, in the same
manner and on the same form utilized to remit Gross Receipts
Taxes, payable to the Treasurer of Guam, and subject to the
requirements of this Chapter 44 and the Department of Revenue &
Taxation.
Conditions:
1) The business wholesales beverages that may include
any and all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, juices,
flavored drinks, milk, coffee, tea and water; and
2) The beverages are distributed in containers that
have been identified by the Guam Environmental Protection
Agency as that which can be recycled pursuant to 44112 of
this chapter; and
3) The business is a distributor in Guam of any such
beverage product for sale to customers by retailers located
on both federal and private property to both military and
local retailers."
1 Section 3. A new 976221 is added to Chapter 76 Article 2 of Title
2 11 Guam Code Annotated to read:
3 "976221. Recycling Redemption Center Endorsements. An
4 endorsement for a Recycling Redemption Center must be obtained
5 by any person who engages in the business of receiving recyclable
6 products and remitting a portion of deposit fees to redeemers.
7 Such required endorsement is approval by the Guam
8 Environmental Protection Agency."
9 Section 4. A new 915104 is added to Chapter 15, Division 2, of
10 Title 11 Guam Code Annotated to read:
11 "§15104. Remittance of Recycling Deposit Fees.
12 (a) Dealers who engage in the sale of recyclable
13 products as defined in s44103 (f) of Title 10 Guam Code
14 Annotated Chapter 44 shall remit all Recycling Deposit Fees
15 collected each month no later than the twentieth (20th) day
16 of the following month in the same manner and on the same
17 form utilized to remit Gross Receipts Taxes on a monthly
18 basis. Recycling deposit fees collected for any calendar
19 month shall be deposited at authorized financial institutions
20 or at designated offices of the government of Guam.
21 (b) All Recycling Deposit Fees received by the
department shall be deposited into the Recycling Deposit
Fund within 30 days of receipt."
Section 5. Subitem (8) of $j 26102 Title 11 Guam Code Annotated
is amended to read:
"(8) Forms. He shall prescribe by regulation the forms
required for the administration and collection of all taxes
levied by t h s Chapter, and for collection of beverage
container deposit fees as required in Title 10 Guam Code
Annotated Chapter 44."
Section 6. Effective Date. The provisions of t h s Act, except where
otherwise noted and subject to the conditions included in Section 8 of
this Act, shall take effect on October 1,2009.
Section 7. Military Cooperation. Deposit fees shall not be
assessed or collected on beverage containers, as defined in t h s act, until
the Government of Guam and the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
commands in Guam shall have established a voluntary agreement in
writing that provides for such deposit fees to be assessed and collected
throughout Guam, including all locations both on and off federal
property, in the manner described in such voluntary agreement.
Assessment and collection of deposit fees on beverage containers shall
continue only for the period of time that such voluntary agreement is in
effect.
Section 8. Severability. If any provision of this Law or its
application to any person or circumstance is found to be invalid or
contrary to law, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this Law whch can be given effect without the invalid
provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this Law are
severable.