S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5499
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 22, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, TITONE, CASTRO, GUNTHER -- Multi-
Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND, HOOPER, JACOBS, MENG, THIELE, WEIS-
ENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental
Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
authorizing and directing the commissioner of environmental conserva-
tion to establish rules and regulations for in-home reverse vending
machines; and directing such commissioner to determine the best design
for such in-home machines and providing for the payment of a grant to
the designer or inventor thereof
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 27-1003 of the environmental conservation law is
amended by adding a new subdivision 12-a to read as follows:
12-A. "IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINE" MEANS A REVERSE VENDING
MACHINE PLACED IN THE RESIDENCE OR BUSINESS OF A CONSUMER WHICH ISSUES A
SCRIP OR RECEIPT TO SUCH CONSUMER FOR THE REFUND VALUE OF ALL BEVERAGE
CONTAINERS TO BE PAID BY A REDEMPTION CENTER.
S 2. Section 27-1013 of the environmental conservation law, as amended
by section 9 of part SS of chapter 59 of the laws of 2009, is amended to
read as follows:
S 27-1013. Redemption centers AND IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINES.
1. The commissioner is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regu-
lations governing [(1)] (A) the circumstances in which dealers and
distributors, individually or collectively, are required to accept the
return of empty beverage containers, and make payment therefor; [(2)]
(B) the sorting of the containers which a deposit initiator or distribu-
tor may require of dealers and redemption centers; [(3)] (C) the
collection of returned beverage containers by deposit initiators or
distributors, including the party to whom such expense is to be charged,
the frequency of such pick ups and the payment for refunds and handling
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09135-01-1
A. 5499 2
fees thereon; [(4)] (D) the right of dealers to restrict or limit the
number of containers redeemed, the rules for redemption at the dealers'
place of business, and the redemption of containers from a beverage for
which sales have been discontinued, and to issue permits to persons,
firms or corporations which establish redemption centers, subject to
applicable provisions of local and state laws, at which redeemers and
dealers may return empty beverage containers and receive payment of the
refund value of such beverage containers; AND (E) TERMS OF CONTRACTS
PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT BY REDEMPTION CENTERS OF THE REFUND VALUE OF
BEVERAGE CONTAINERS DEPOSITED IN IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINES AND
THE COLLECTION OF SUCH DEPOSITED CONTAINERS BY REDEMPTION CENTERS. No
dealer or distributor, as defined in section 27-1003 of this title,
shall be required to obtain a permit to operate a redemption center at
the same location as the dealer's or distributor's place of business.
Operators of such redemption centers shall receive payment of the refund
value of each beverage container from the appropriate deposit initiator
or distributor as provided under section 27-1007 of this title.
2. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING
THE DESIGN, OPERATION AND AVAILABILITY OF IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING
MACHINES. FURTHERMORE, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SUBMIT TO THE LEGISLATURE
SUCH LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS AS HE OR SHE SHALL DEEM NECESSARY FOR THE
REGULATION AND USE OF IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINES.
S 3. (a) The commissioner of environmental conservation shall solicit
and any person may submit to such commissioner a design for an effi-
cient, accurate, reliable and easy to use in-home reverse vending
machine, as defined in subdivision 12-a of section 27-1003 of the envi-
ronmental conservation law. The commissioner shall establish and publish
standards for the design of reverse vending machines to be used in this
state.
(b) On or before January 1, 2013, the commissioner shall from the
designs and prototype in-home reverse vending machines submitted to him
or her, determine which design or prototype thereof is the best design
and most closely meets the standards therefor. The designer or inventor
of the best design or prototype shall be awarded a grant of one hundred
twenty thousand dollars. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to
the contrary, such grant shall be paid from the solid waste account of
the environmental protection fund.
S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.