Connecticut packaging and PFAS laws

What it would do: Requires the Commissioner of Revenue Services to determine the statewide beverage container redemption rate for 2026 and reduce the refund value to five cents effective July 1, 2027 if the rate exceeds 100 percent. Allows deposit initiators with negative balances from overredemption in fiscal years 2025-2026 to seek full reimbursement.

What it would do: Requires commercial food businesses, institutions, and schools generating at least 26 tons annually of organic materials to separate and recycle them at composting facilities. Prohibits food service establishments from using expanded polystyrene food service ware and providing single-use utensils except upon request.

What it would do: Establishes a working group to study beverage container redemption rates and deposit initiator fees, requiring a report by January 1, 2026. Reduces the fee on infused beverage containers sold by cannabis establishments from one dollar to five cents, effective October 1, 2025.

What it would do: Prohibits tendering beverage containers not originally sold in Connecticut or previously redeemed for refunds. Requires redemption centers to register annually, record high-volume transactions, and post warning signs; increases penalties for violations and authorizes the Commissioner of Revenue Services to examine records and enforce compliance.

What it would do: Requires municipalities to provide PFAS-free turnout gear to firefighters with cancer or cancer risk, establishes a pilot cancer screening reimbursement program, and allocates $3,000,000 in grants to remove PFAS from fire apparatus for municipalities, independent fire companies, and state agencies.

What it would do: Prohibits state and municipal agencies, schools, vendors, and businesses from selling or providing polystyrene food ware, packaging, and single-use plastic cutlery and straws, except single-use plastic straws for persons with disabilities. Requires bottle-filling stations in buildings with drinking fountains and a report on reducing single-use plastic packaging by 25 percent by 2032.

What it would do: Requires the Connecticut Interagency PFAS Task Force to identify funding sources by July 15, 2025 for remediating municipally owned wells exceeding EPA PFAS drinking water standards, and to accelerate testing of public drinking water supplies owned by municipalities, private entities, or water companies.

What it would do: Requires the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to submit a report to the joint standing committee on the environment by January 15, 2027, detailing proposals derived from the waste characterization study, including extended producer responsibility programs and recyclable item designations, with draft statutory revisions.

What it would do: Authorizes the State Bond Commission to issue up to five hundred thousand dollars in state bonds, with proceeds to be used by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to provide a grant-in-aid to the town of Franklin to address well contamination at Franklin Town Hall and the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department.

What it would do: Exempts polymer-coated durable items authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration for food contact from Connecticut's PFAS-related statutory requirements for consumer goods.

What it would do: Amends Connecticut General Statutes chapter 104 to allow paid or volunteer firefighters diagnosed with cancer, predisposed to cancer, or determined by a physician to have increased cancer risk to obtain an additional set of PFAS-free turnout gear as a reasonable accommodation.

What it would do: Amends Connecticut general statutes to establish extended producer responsibility for packaging products, making producers responsible for managing the end-of-life disposal and recycling of their packaging.

What it would do: Amends Connecticut general statutes to prohibit the use of polystyrene products in public schools.

What it would do: Requires reverse vending machines to accept all refund-eligible beverage containers regardless of whether the retail location where the machine is located sells those containers.

What it would do: Prohibits the use of the abbreviation 'CTRV' or the words 'Redemption Value' on beverage containers sold or distributed in the state.

What it would do: Requires all bottle redemption centers to accept bottles and cans from microbreweries.

What it would do: Amends general statutes to prohibit the sale of nips beginning January 1, 2026, or alternatively to include nip bottles in the state's bottle bill program.

What it would do: Repeals the prohibition on distribution of single-use plastic bags by certain merchants and establishes a prohibition on the use of PFAS in paper straws.

What it would do: Amends Connecticut general statutes to adopt Maine's PFAS prohibition and establish strict guidelines for using sewage sludge in farming to protect public health.

What it would do: Authorizes the State Bond Commission to issue up to three hundred thousand dollars in state bonds, with proceeds to be used by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to provide a grant-in-aid to the town of Franklin to address well contamination at Franklin Town Hall and the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department.

What it would do: Increases the penalty for persons who engage in fraudulent bottle redemptions under Connecticut's bottle redemption program.

What it would do: Amends Connecticut general statutes to encourage investments in water infrastructure projects required for state and federal regulatory compliance and authorize a surcharge for certain water infrastructure projects providing environmental and public health benefits, including PFAS contamination remediation.

What it would do: Repeals the bottle bill and designates beverage containers as recyclable items subject to mandatory recycling requirements.

What it would do: Requires public water suppliers to conduct monthly testing ensuring PFAS levels do not exceed twenty parts per trillion, and mandates remedial actions such as linking to new water sources, installing PFAS filters, or blending well waters if three-month average testing shows higher levels.

What it would do: Prohibits the cannabis industry from using single-use packaging plastics and requires the use of recyclable and compostable packaging instead.