The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, not earlier than October 1, 1991, establishing standards and requirements, consistent with the provisions of the state-wide solid waste management plan adopted pursuant to section 22a-228, for (1) reducing the volume or weight of disposable packaging material manufactured for domestic, commercial, industrial, government, or other use; (2) enhancing the recyclability of disposable packaging material; and (3) increasing the proportion of recycled resources used in the manufacture of packaging material. Regulations adopted under this section may (A) require labels indicating (i) whether packaging material is recyclable and the quantity of recycled material in the packaging, if any, and (ii) whether any toxic substance is present in the packaging; (B) set minimum standards for recycled content in classes of packaging; (C) establish guidelines or standards for refillable and reusable packages for certain types of goods; (D) establish guidelines or standards for packaging certain products in recyclable packages; (E) prohibit or reduce the use of substances in packaging material to minimize adverse impacts on the environment, such as the release of toxic substances from land disposal or incineration; (F) establish standards for the volume or weight of classes of packaging; and (G) establish standards to minimize the content of toxic substances in printed materials or products composed of plastics which are generally disposed of in a resources recovery facility. Such regulations shall not be inconsistent with preferred packaging guidelines issued by the Coalition of Northeastern Governors Source Reduction Task Force or regulations of the United States Food and Drug Administration or any other federal regulatory agency.

(P.A. 89-385, S. 2; P.A. 90-230, S. 73, 101; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 90-230 substituted “the state-wide solid waste management plan adopted pursuant to section 22a-228” for “the plan”; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011.