(a) Except with respect to beverage containers that contain liquor, a deposit of not less than five cents shall be paid by the consumer on each beverage container sold at the retail level and refunded to the consumer upon return of the empty beverage container. With respect to beverage containers of volume greater than 50 ml. that contain liquor, a deposit of 15 cents shall be paid by the consumer on each beverage container sold at the retail level and refunded to the consumer upon return of the empty beverage container. The difference between liquor bottle deposits collected and refunds made is hereby retained by the Liquor Control Enterprise Fund for administration of this subsection.

(b) A retailer or a person operating a redemption center who redeems beverage containers shall be reimbursed by the manufacturer or distributor of such beverage containers in an amount that is three and one-half cents per container for containers of beverage brands that are part of a commingling program and four cents per container for containers of beverage brands that are not part of a commingling program.

(c) [Repealed.]

(d) Containers shall be redeemed during no fewer than 40 hours per week during the regular operating hours of the establishment. (Added 1971, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1975, No. 105, § 2; 1979, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1987, No. 261 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1 1990; 1991, No. 245 (Adj. Sess.), § 272; 1999, No. 49, § 193; 2005, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2007, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2017, No. 83, § 143.)