(a) No person shall establish a redemption center without registering with the commissioner on a form provided by the commissioner with such information as the commissioner deems necessary including (1) the name of the business principals of the redemption center and the address of the business; (2) the name and address of the sponsors and dealers to be served by the redemption center; (3) the types of beverage containers to be accepted; (4) the hours of operation; and (5) whether beverage containers will be accepted from consumers. The operator of the redemption center shall report any change in procedure to the commissioner within forty-eight hours of such change. Any person establishing a redemption center shall have the right to determine what kind, size and brand of beverage container shall be accepted. Any redemption center may be established to serve all persons or to serve certain specified dealers.

(b) A dealer shall not refuse to accept at such dealer’s place of business, from any person any empty beverage containers of the kind, size and brand sold by the dealer, or refuse to pay to such person the refund value of a beverage container unless (1) such container contains materials which are foreign to the normal contents of the container; (2) such container is not labeled in accordance with subsection (b) of § 22a-244; (3) such dealer sponsors, solely or with others, a redemption center which is located within a one-mile radius of such place of business and which accepts beverage containers of the kind, size and brand sold by such dealer at such place of business; or (4) there is established by others, a redemption center which is located within a one-mile radius of such place of business and which accepts beverage containers of the kind, size and brand sold by such dealer at such place of business. A dealer shall redeem an empty container of a kind, size or brand the sale of which has been discontinued by such dealer for not less than sixty days after the last sale by the dealer of such kind, size or brand of beverage container. Sixty days before such date, the dealer shall post, at the point of sale, notice of the last date on which the discontinued kind, size or brand of beverage container shall be redeemed.

(c) A distributor shall not refuse to accept from a dealer or from an operator of a redemption center, located and operated exclusively within the territory of the distributor or whose operator certifies to the distributor that redeemed containers were from a dealer located within such territory, any empty beverage containers of the kind, size and brand sold by the distributor, or refuse to pay to such dealer or redemption center operator the refund value of a beverage container unless such container contains materials which are foreign to the normal contents of the container or unless such container is not labeled in accordance with subsection (b) of § 22a-244. A distributor shall remove any empty beverage container from the premises of a dealer serviced by the distributor or from the premises of a redemption center sponsored by dealers serviced by the distributor, provided such premises are located within the territory of the distributor. The distributor shall pay the refund value to dealers in accordance with the schedule for payment by the dealer to the distributor for full beverage containers and shall pay such refund value to operators of redemption centers not more than twenty days after receipt of the empty container. For the purposes of this subsection, a redemption center shall be considered to be sponsored by a dealer if (1) the dealer refuses to redeem beverage containers and refers consumers to the redemption center, or (2) there is an agreement between the dealer and the operator of the redemption center requiring the redemption center to remove empty beverage containers from the premises of the dealer. A distributor shall redeem an empty container of a kind, size or brand of beverage container the sale of which has been discontinued by the distributor for not less than one hundred fifty days after the last delivery of such kind, size or brand of beverage container. Not less than one hundred twenty days before the last date such containers may be redeemed, the distributor shall notify such dealer who bought the discontinued kind, size or brand of beverage container that such distributor shall not redeem an empty beverage container of such kind, size or brand of beverage containers.

(d) In addition to the refund value of a beverage container, a distributor shall pay to any dealer or operator of a redemption center a handling fee of at least two and one-half cents for each container of beer, hard seltzer, hard cider or other malt beverage and three and one-half cents for each beverage container of mineral waters, soda water and similar carbonated soft drinks or noncarbonated beverage returned for redemption. A distributor shall not be required to pay to a manufacturer the refund value of a nonrefillable beverage container.

(e) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement the provisions of sections 22a-243 to 22a-245, inclusive. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions for the redemption of beverage containers dispensed through automatic reverse vending machines, the use of vending machines that reimburse consumers for the redemption value of beverage containers, scheduling for redemption by dealers and distributors and for exemptions or modifications to the labeling requirement of § 22a-244.

(f) For the purposes of this section, “refund value” means the refund value established by subsection (a) of § 22a-244.