HOUSE BILL No. 5907


     June 4, 1998, Introduced by Rep. Profit and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Affairs.


        A bill to provide standards for reverse vending machines; to

   require certain design standards of beverage containers; to regu-

   late the deposits on and the return of deposits on beverage con-

   tainers; to provide for penalties for violations of this act; and

   to prescribe certain powers and duties of certain state agencies

   and officials.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 1         Sec. 1.  As used in this act:

 2         (a) "Beverage container" means an airtight metal, glass,

 3    paper, or plastic container that contains 1 gallon or less of a

 4    beverage at the time of sale.

 5         (b) "Dealer" means a person engaged in the business of sell-

 6    ing a beverage in a beverage container.  Dealer includes a

 7    vending machine operator or owner.




   04518'97                                                 JJG
                                              2

 1         (c) "Distributor" means a person in the business of selling

 2    a beverage in a beverage container to a dealer.  Distributor

 3    includes a manufacturer or a dealer that sells to a dealer.

 4         (d) "Manufacturer" means a person who fills beverage con-

 5    tainers for sale to distributors, dealers, or consumers.

 6         (e) "Nonreturnable container" means a container of a bever-

 7    age on which a 10-cent deposit has not been paid at the time of

 8    purchase and is not included in the provisions of the Initiated

 9    Law of 1976, MCL 445.571 to 445.576.

10         (f) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,

11    association, governmental entity, or other legal entity, and

12    includes a dealer, distributor, or manufacturer.

13         (g) "Returnable container" means that term as defined in

14    section 1 of the Initiated Law of 1976, MCL 445.571.

15         (h) "Reverse vending machine" means a device designed to

16    properly identify an empty returnable container and provide a

17    means to obtain a refund.

18         (i) "Uniform code council" means the uniform code council,

19    inc.

20         (j) "Universal product code" means a 12-digit numeric code

21    that identifies a consumer product, for retail and nonretail

22    applications, assigned by the uniform code council and the

23    product's manufacturer.

24         Sec. 2.  A person shall not return an empty beverage con-

25    tainer for a refund unless the beverage container is a returnable

26    container.





   04518'97
                                   3

 1         Sec. 3.  A manufacturer shall not sell or offer for sale a

 2    returnable container or beverage in a returnable container unless

 3    the universal product code is affixed and identifies that con-

 4    tainer as a returnable container sold in this state.

 5         Sec. 4.  A dealer, distributor, or manufacturer shall not

 6    use a reverse vending machine unless the reverse vending machine

 7    is designed to do all of the following:

 8         (a) From the universal product code, determine whether a

 9    beverage container is a returnable container sold in this state.

10         (b) Capture and destroy a nonreturnable container placed in

11    it for a refund.

12         (c) Provide an accurate printed report containing all of the

13    following:

14         (i) The number of returnable containers placed in the

15    reverse vending machine over a predetermined time period.

16         (ii) The brand name of each beverage container placed in the

17    reverse vending machine.

18         (iii) The kind, type, and size of beverage container placed

19    in the reverse vending machine.

20         (iv) The number of nonreturnable containers captured and

21    destroyed.

22         Sec. 5.  The report provided by a dealer's reverse vending

23    machine pursuant to section 4 shall be made available to a manu-

24    facturer or distributor who provides a refund to that dealer.

25         Sec. 6.  A reverse vending machine and a report that it pro-

26    vides are subject to an inspection and audit by the Michigan





   04518'97
                                   4

 1    department of treasury in enforcing the provisions of the

 2    Initiated Law of 1976, MCL 445.571 to 445.576.

 3         Sec. 7.  (1) A person who violates this act is guilty of a

 4    misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months

 5    or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.

 6         (2) In addition to a penalty imposed under subsection (1), a

 7    person who violates this act shall be ordered by the court to pay

 8    restitution for any loss caused by the violation.








































   04518'97          Final page.                            JJG