Tennessee

The 2011 Campaign

Bill Number and Name	House Bill 289 and Senate Bill 337, Tennessee Beverage Container Recycling Refunds Act Bill text
Sponsors	Rep. Mike McDonald and Rep. Jim Coley, Sen. Jim Summerville, Sen. Randy McNally, Sen. Beverly Marrero
Beverages Covered	malt beverages, soda, all waters, energy drinks, iced teas, iced coffees and juices. Excludes dairy, wine and spirits, and drugs
Containers Covered	glass, aluminum, steel, bimetal or plastic
Deposits	5¢
Handling Fees	"Overhead allowance" equal to 1 cent per container, paid by processors to redemption centers
Other Fees / Taxes	"Administrative allowance" equal to 1/10 cent per container, paid by the state to the processors
Reclamation System	Redemption Centers
Unredeemed Deposits	Property of the state, used to fund operations, redemption centers and related purposes

Key features:

Deposit is 5 cents on most beverages (malt beverages, soda, all waters, energy drinks, iced teas, iced coffees and juices); dairy, wine and spirits not covered
Returns are exclusively to independent redemption centers certified by the program
Redemption centers own the containers and sell directly to certified processors
Redemption centers receive an "overhead allowance" equal to 1 cent per container
Processors reimburse redemption centers the deposit, plus the overhead allowance
Processors invoice the program for reimbursement; they also receive an "administrative allowance" equal to 1/10 cent per container
Redemption centers may accept and sell other household recyclables, including non-deposit containers, pending local approval
State's solid-waste management agency oversees the program
Unclaimed deposits belong to the program and are used to fund operations, redemption centers and related purposes
Existing "litter tax" on beer and soft drinks (enacted 1981; paid by the beverage distributors) is eliminated; it is replaced by 1/8-cent-per-container "container-recovery fee" which is used primarily to allow uninterrupted funding of state's litter program
Advance on the container-recovery fee funds program start-up costs; fee is then lowered until the advance has been repaid
Program fund may accept private and public donations and grants

February 3, 2011: HB 289 filed

February 4, 2011: SB 337 filed

February 7, 2011: Both bills passed first reading

February 9, 2011: HB 298 referred to to Conservation & Environment Committee, SB 337 referred to Environment, Conservation and Tourism

Marge Davis
Scenic Tennessee Coordinator,
Pride of Place/Tennessee Bottle Bill Project
www.tnbottlebill.org
margedavis@comcast.net
(615) 758-8647

Updated February 18, 2011