Acts and Regulations

99-66 - General

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NEW BRUNSWICK
REGULATION 99-66
under the
Beverage Containers Act
(O.C. 99-672)
Filed December 20, 1999
Under section 22 of the Beverage Containers Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council makes the following Regulation:
Citation
1This Regulation may be cited as the General Regulation - Beverage Containers Act.
Definitions
2In this Regulation
“Act” means the Beverage Containers Act;(Loi)
“agent” means an agent to whom a distributor has assigned all or part of the distributor’s responsibilities under subsection 4(5) of the Act;(représentant)
“business day” means a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and excludes Remembrance Day, Boxing Day and any other day that is a holiday as defined in the Interpretation Act;(jour ouvrable)
“depositor” means a natural person, partnership or corporation that delivers a security to the Minister under paragraph 17(4)(a) of the Act;(déposant)
“holder of a licence” means the holder of a licence issued under subsection 4(4).(titulaire du permis)
Exclusions
3Apple cider that has not been heated, pasteurized or otherwise processed, milk and milk products, chocolate milk, soya milk and concentrated drinks are liquids excluded from the definition “beverage” in the Act.
Licensing of redemption centres
4(1)A person may apply for a licence required under section 13 of the Act by submitting to the Minister
(a) an application on a form provided by the Minister, and
(b) any further documentation or information required by the Minister.
4(2)In addition to any terms and conditions that the Minister may have established under subsection 13(2) of the Act in relation to the issuance of a licence, the Minister may require an applicant for a licence to satisfy the Minister
(a) that the applicant or the operator of the proposed redemption centre has sufficient capital available to pay all refunds that could be requested for empty beverage containers between start-up and the first possible reimbursement of refunds by a distributor, and between reimbursements,
(b) that appropriate indoor space is provided at the redemption centre sufficient to store all empty beverage containers that the centre could accumulate between start-up and the first collection by a distributor, and between collections, and
(c) that the storage area at the redemption centre is accessible to vehicles that are loading and unloading empty beverage containers.
4(3)In addition to any grounds that the Minister may have established under subsection 13(4) of the Act, the Minister may refuse to issue a licence if
(a) the Minister is not satisfied that the proposed redemption centre should be operated in the proposed location, as is provided for in subsection 13(5) of the Act,
(b) the applicant, the proposed operator of the redemption centre or the proposed redemption centre is not in compliance with a provision of the Act or the regulations, or
(c) where the redemption centre has previously been registered or licensed under the Act, the operator or an employee of the redemption centre has violated or failed to comply with, or the redemption centre was not in compliance with,
(i) a provision of the Act or the regulations, or
(ii) a term or condition imposed on the previous licence.
4(4)The Minister, if satisfied that an applicant, the proposed operator of the redemption centre and the proposed redemption centre are in compliance with the Act and this Regulation, will remain in compliance with the Act and this Regulation during the period of validity of the licence and have met all terms and conditions that the Minister may have imposed, may issue a licence to the applicant, subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may impose under the Act or this Regulation.
4(5)A licence shall be on a form provided by the Minister.
4(6)Subject to section 21, the Minister may issue a licence for a period of up to five years.
4(7)One licence may authorize the holder to operate a redemption centre at more than one location.
4(8)A licence may be transferred to a different holder, with the approval of the Minister, by applying to the Minister in accordance with the Minister’s directions.
4(9)A holder of a licence may apply to the Minister in writing for an amendment to, substitution for or supplement of the terms and conditions imposed upon the licence or to change the number or nature of the locations to which the licence applies and the Minister, if satisfied that the holder of the licence, the operator of the redemption centre to which it applies and the redemption centre will continue to be in compliance with the Act and this Regulation if the change is made, may make the requested change.
4(10)The holder of a licence shall at all times display the original or a copy of the licence in a conspicuous place at each location to which the licence applies.
4(11)The holder of a licence shall forthwith notify the Minister in writing of any change in the information originally set out in the application for the licence or set out on the licence.
2005-132
Renewals
5(1)A holder of a licence may apply to renew it by submitting to the Minister an application on a form provided by the Minister at least sixty days before the licence expires.
5(2)Subsections 4(1) to (5) apply with the necessary modifications to an application for a renewal.
5(3)The Minister shall not refuse to renew a licence without giving the applicant for renewal an opportunity to be heard in the matter.
Suspension, cancellation and reinstatement
6(1)In addition to any grounds that the Minister may have established under subsection 13(4) of the Act, the Minister, after giving the holder of a licence the opportunity to be heard as required under the Act or this Regulation, may suspend or cancel a licence if the holder of the licence or the operator or an employee of the redemption centre has violated or failed to comply with, or if the redemption centre is not in compliance with,
(a) a provision of the Act or the regulations, or
(b) a term or condition imposed on the licence.
6(2)The Minister, if suspending or canceling a licence, shall send to the holder of the licence a written notice of the suspension or cancellation, in which shall be set out the reasons for the suspension or cancellation.
6(3)The Minister may reinstate a suspended licence subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may impose under the Act.
Operation of redemption centres
7(1)The holder of a licence and the operator of a redemption centre shall ensure that
(a) the centre is kept clean to the satisfaction of the Minister and that broken glass, discarded cardboard and plastic bags and other refuse and debris are collected and properly disposed of,
(b) each empty beverage container is provided to the distributor or agent collecting it with its removable cap removed, with markings that identify the distributor or person who filled the container still legible, with no foreign material or free flowing liquid inside the container and with no foreign material in the bulking container,
(c) all the empty beverage containers and items necessary for bulking the containers are stored indoors, and
(d) the requirements of subsection 4(2) continue to be met during the operation of the centre.
7(2)Distributors or, where applicable, the agents of distributors shall provide the operators of redemption centres with all bulking containers, shells, pallets and other items necessary for bulking empty beverage containers and may charge the operators of redemption centres a fully refundable deposit for each such reusable item.
7(3)The holder of a licence and the operator of a redemption centre shall ensure that no refund is paid at the centre for an empty beverage container on which no deposit was paid in New Brunswick.
7(4)The holder of a licence and the operator of a redemption centre shall ensure that
(a) empty refillable beverage containers that are collected by the agent of distributors are sorted according to the distributor,
(b) empty recyclable beverage containers that are collected by the agent of distributors are sorted according to colour and material into not more than sixteen different sorts for alcoholic beverages and not more than sixteen different sorts for non-alcoholic beverages, and
(c) empty beverage containers that are collected by distributors themselves are sorted according to the distributor that distributed them.
Requirements for securities
8(1)If the Minister imposes a condition that a distributor deliver a security under paragraph 17(4)(a) of the Act, the security shall have a face value of
(a) if the distributor’s empty beverage containers are collected by an agent and the agent delivers the security on behalf of that distributor under subsections 9(1) and (2), two hundred thousand dollars, or
(b) if the distributor’s empty beverage containers are not collected by an agent and the distributor distributes
(i) two hundred and fifty thousand or fewer beverage containers in each year, fifteen thousand dollars, or
(ii) more than two hundred and fifty thousand beverage containers in each year, twenty-five thousand dollars.
8(2)A security referred to in subsection (1) shall be in the form of
(a) a deposit of money,
(b) a negotiable bond signed over to the Minister of Finance,
(c) an irrevocable documentary credit or letter of credit from a bank or other lending institution acceptable to the Minister that is negotiable only by the Minister, or
(d) a bond of an insurance company authorized and licensed to do business in the Province.
8(3)A security described in paragraph (2)(c) or (d) shall be for a term of not less than one year.
8(4)An insurance company providing a bond under paragraph (2)(d) shall give the Minister at least three months’ notice of the lapse, expiry or cancellation of the bond.
8(5)A bond under paragraph (2)(d) shall not lapse, expire or be cancelled until three months after notice is given to the Minister under subsection (4).
8(6)A depositor may deliver a substitute security in exchange for a security delivered under this Regulation.
8(7)A substitute security or a renewal of a security shall be delivered to the Minister not less than twenty-one days before the lapse, expiration or cancellation date of a security delivered under this Regulation.
8(8)A security or a substitute or renewal of a security shall be deemed to be delivered to the Minister when the Minister has notified the depositor that it is in accordance with this Regulation and is acceptable to the Minister.
8(9)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Regulation, the total liability of the insurer under a bond under paragraph (2)(d) shall not exceed the face value of the bond.
8(10)If new bonds have been issued from time to time by the same insurance company upon the lapse or expiry of previous bonds, all such bonds shall be deemed to be one continuing bond and the maximum amount for which the insurance company shall be liable shall be the face value of the bond last issued upon the lapse or expiry of a previous bond.
8(11)The depositor of a security shall maintain the security, a substitute or a renewal of the security until the Minister determines that it is no longer required.
8(12)The Minister shall return a security to the depositor when a substitute security complying with the Act and this Regulation has been delivered or when the Minister determines that the security is no longer required.
Delivery of security
9(1)A natural person, partnership or corporation that is a distributor or a corporation that is an agent of distributors may deliver security required by the Minister under paragraph 17(4)(a) of the Act.
9(2)The security delivered by a corporation that is an agent of distributors shall be in the amount required under paragraph 8(1)(a), and the delivery of that amount shall fulfil the requirement for delivery of security under that paragraph for all distributors of which the corporation is an agent.
9(3)A corporation that is an agent of distributors and delivers security shall provide the Minister with an up-to-date list of the names of all distributors of which it is an agent and with any other information reasonably requested by the Minister regarding those distributors and shall give the Minister written notice of any change in the list and the date of the change not less than thirty days before the change takes place.
9(4)Security delivered by a corporation that is an agent for distributors shall continue to apply to a distributor whose name is to be removed from the list referred to in subsection (3) until the expiry of thirty days after notice has been given to the Minister of the removal under that subsection.
9(5)If the name of a distributor is to be removed from a list of distributors, the distributor shall, before the name is removed, deliver to the Minister, where the Minister requires one, a substitute security with the face value required under subsection 8(1).
Forfeiture of security
10(1)The security delivered to the Minister in relation to a distributor shall be forfeited if the distributor or the agent of the distributor fails to collect empty beverage containers or to pay the refunds or handling fees in accordance with the Act and this Regulation within fourteen days after the distributor or the agent, as the case may be, is required to do so under the Act and this Regulation.
10(2)The security delivered by a corporation that is an agent of distributors shall be forfeited to the extent of its full face value when the security of a distributor that is named on the corporation’s list referred to in subsection 9(3) would be forfeited under this Regulation.
10(3)Notwithstanding subsection (2), a corporation that is an agent of distributors may substitute for the face value of a security forfeited under that subsection an amount to be determined by the Minister that is sufficient to make the payments or reimbursements listed in paragraphs (4)(a) and (b) in full in relation to the forfeiture of the distributor’s security.
10(4)Any money recovered on the forfeiture of a security, after deducting the cost of administering the security under subsection 17(9) of the Act, shall be distributed in the following order of priority:
(a) payment or reimbursement in full or, where the money is insufficient, on a pro rata basis, to the holders of licences for paid-out refunds, handling fees and deposits on bulking material that relate to the empty beverage containers of the distributor to which the forfeiture relates and for which the holders of licences have not been paid or reimbursed;
(b) payment of the cost of transporting, recycling and otherwise handling the empty beverage containers after collection from the redemption centres; and
(c) payment of any balance remaining into the Environmental Trust Fund.
10(5)The money recovered from a forfeited security is not subject to the provisions of the Financial Administration Act.
Hearings
11(1)If a person becomes entitled to a hearing under the Act or under this Regulation, the Minister shall send written notice of the matter to the person, indicating in the notice the deadline referred to in subsection (2) before which the person must deliver to the Minister the written submissions referred to in subsection (2) in order to be heard regarding the matter.
11(2)A person who has received a notice under subsection (1) and who wishes to have a hearing shall so signify by delivering to the Minister written submissions in relation to the matter no later than thirty-five days after the written notice is sent.
11(3)The hearing shall be conducted by the Minister.
11(4)The hearing shall consist of a full review of the written submissions that are received by the Minister on or before the established deadline and, at the Minister’s discretion, may include an oral hearing.
11(5)Nothing in the Act or this Regulation shall be deemed to require the Minister to hold an oral hearing.
11(6)The Minister may, after conducting a hearing, reverse, confirm or vary the decision to take the proposed action to which the hearing relates, and shall send to the person who delivered written submissions in the matter a written decision, with reasons, within thirty days
(a) after receiving the written submissions most recently received, or
(b) if an oral hearing was conducted, after conducting the oral hearing,
whichever occurs later.
11(7)The decision of the Minister in relation to a hearing under this section is final.
Deposits
12The deposits to be paid for beverage containers under subsection 7(1) of the Act are
(a) for containers of beverages other than alcoholic beverages, an amount for each container that, when added to any applicable federal and provincial sales tax on the deposit, equals ten cents, and
(b) for containers of alcoholic beverages
(i) for each container of five hundred millilitres or less, an amount that, when added to any applicable federal and provincial sales tax on the deposit, equals ten cents, and
(ii) for each container of more than five hundred millilitres, an amount that, when added to any applicable federal and provincial sales tax on the deposit, equals twenty cents.
Refunds
13The amount of the refund for a recyclable beverage container for the purposes of paragraph 5(3)(b) of the Act is equal to fifty per cent of the deposit that was paid on the container under section 12.
Period of time for collection
14For the purposes of subsection 15(1) of the Act, the period of time within which a distributor or, where applicable, an agent of the distributor shall collect empty beverage containers following a request is seven business days.
Amounts of containers for collection
15(1)A distributor that does not collect its empty beverage containers through an agent shall collect the containers from a holder or the agent of a holder of a licence following a request under subsection 15(1) of the Act when the holder or agent has possession of at least two hundred containers distributed by that distributor.
15(2)An agent for one or more distributors shall collect empty beverage containers following a request under subsection 15(1) of the Act when the holder or the agent of a holder of a licence has possession of
(a) for containers of beverages other than alcoholic beverages, ten thousand containers,
(b) for containers of alcoholic beverages other than refillable beer containers, five thousand containers, or
(c) for refillable beer containers, fifty-five thousand containers.
Period of time for payment of refund
16For the purposes of subsection 15(3) of the Act, the period of time within which a distributor or, where applicable, the agent of a distributor shall pay in cash the refund and handling fee to the holder of a licence is seven business days, commencing on the day on which the empty beverage containers to which the refund and handling fee relate are accepted by the distributor.
Handling fee
17For the purposes of subsection 15(3) of the Act, the amount of the handling fee is
(a) from December 1, 2005, to November 30, 2006, inclusive, $0.025 for each empty refillable beer container and $0.035 for all other empty beverage containers,
(b) from December 1, 2006, to November 30, 2007, inclusive, $0.02555 for each empty refillable beer container and $0.03577 for all other empty beverage containers, and
(c) on and after December 1, 2007, $0.02611 for each empty refillable beer container and $0.03656 for all other empty beverage containers.
2002-25; 2005-132
Retention and remission of environmental fees and unclaimed deposits
18(1)Subject to subsection (2), for the purposes of subsection 18(2) of the Act, a distributor may retain fifty per cent of the environmental fees and all of the unclaimed deposits paid and collected for beverage containers distributed by the distributor.
18(2)The Minister may establish a portion or portions of environmental fees or unclaimed deposits, or both, that may be retained by distributors, in which case the portion or portions that may be retained shall be the portion or portions established by the Minister.
18(3)The Minister, if changing the portion or portions of environmental fees or unclaimed deposits, or both, that may be retained by distributors, shall send by ordinary mail a written notice of the change to all distributors at least sixty days before the change is effective.
18(4)A distributor may make a contract with an agent providing for the agent to collect and retain the portion or portions of the environmental fees or unclaimed deposits, or both, that the distributor may retain under subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, and the agent may retain that portion or those portions in accordance with the contract.
18(5)A distributor or, where applicable, agent of the distributor shall, once each month, remit the unretained environmental fees and any unretained unclaimed deposits into the Environmental Trust Fund in a manner acceptable to the Minister.
Connecting devices
19For the purposes of section 8 of the Act, no distributor shall sell a beverage in beverage containers connected by a connecting device that will not degrade rapidly through photodegradation or biodegradation after removal of the containers from the device.
Prohibition of redemption from unlicensed redemption centre
20No operator or employee of a redemption centre, holder of a licence or distributor shall accept an empty beverage container, in exchange for a refund, from a redemption centre that is not being operated under the authority of a licence.
Transitional provision
21Licences that are deemed to be licences under section 11 of An Act to Amend the Beverage Containers Act, chapter 45 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1998, shall expire on December 31, 2000.
Repeal
22New Brunswick Regulation 92-54 under the Beverage Containers Act is repealed.
Commencement
23This Regulation comes into force on January 1, 2000.
N.B. This Regulation is consolidated to December 1, 2005.