Bill textHouse Bill 3235 would enact the South Carolina Beverage Container Recycling Act, establishing a bottle bill. The bill would require a deposit on nearly all beverage containers, including beer, soft drinks, bottled water and bottled juice.
| Bill Number and Name | House Bill 3235, Beverage Container Recycling Act Bill text |
|---|---|
| Sponsors | Rep. J.E. Smith |
| Beverages Covered | All nonalcoholic drinks, beer and malt |
| Containers Covered | glass, aluminum, steel, bimetal, or plastic, less than or equal to two liters |
| Deposits | 5¢ |
| Handling Fees | 1 – 2¢, Paid by processors to recycling centers |
| Other Fees / Taxes | Container recovery fee, paid by distributors to the state, starting at .25¢ per container and increasing to 1¢ |
| Reclamation System | Redemption Centers |
| Unredeemed Deposits | Property of the state Deposit beverage container fund |
As with most other new deposit bills, all nonalcoholic beverages are subject to a deposit. Dairy drinks, supplements, broths, and certain other liquids are excluded. It includes beer and other malt beverages, but not wine or mixed spirits.
The program will be run by the Department of Revenue from a 'Deposit beverage container fund'.
In addition to the deposit, distributors must also pay a non-refundable container recovery fee for each deposit beverage container manufactured in or imported into the State. The fee must be imposed only once on the same deposit beverage container and must be implemented in phases, starting at .25¢ and increasing to 1¢ by January 2016.
Distributors pay deposits to the Department of Revenue, passing on the charges to dealers and consumers.
All redeemed containers are required to be submitted to a certified processor, which is responsible for reimbursing the redemption center for deposit values and fees.
The bureau shall convene an advisory committee to assist it in developing any rules needed to implement this chapter.
January 8, 2013 Introduced and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs