North Carolina 2025 Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 16 D · 1 I cosponsors

HB 344 — Litter Reduction Act of 2025.

Last action — Passed 1st Reading

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced March 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 17 sponsors

    3 primary, 14 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (16 D · 1 I) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

393 added · 390 removed

Plain-language change summary

In the latest version of HB 344, the definition of "Consumer" has been revised to clarify that it includes not just individuals purchasing beverages for personal use, but also establishments like restaurants and bars that buy beverages. Additionally, the previous definition included the term "Contracted agent," which has been removed. This change matters because it broadens the scope of who is considered a consumer, potentially impacting regulations related to beverage sales and distribution in North Carolina.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 344 Short Title:
344 Mar 10, 2025 SESSION 2025 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH30136-MHa-55 Short Title:
Representative K.
Representatives K.
Brown.
Brown, von Haefen, Hawkins, and Harrison (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO REDUCE ROADSIDE AND OTHER LITTERING AND TO ENCOURAGE RECYCLING BY REQUIRING A DEPOSIT ON BEVERAGE CONTAINERS AND REQUIRING REDEMPTION CENTERS TO ACCEPT RETURNED BEVERAGE CONTAINERS AND REFUND THE DEPOSITS.
Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House March 11, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO REDUCE ROADSIDE AND OTHER LITTERING AND TO ENCOURAGE RECYCLING BY REQUIRING A DEPOSIT ON BEVERAGE CONTAINERS AND REQUIRING REDEMPTION CENTERS TO ACCEPT RETURNED BEVERAGE CONTAINERS AND REFUND THE DEPOSITS.
Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following definitions apply throughout this Part:
*H344-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following definitions apply throughout this Part:
*DRH30136-MHa-55* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (1) Beverage.
(1) Beverage.
and any nonalcoholiccarbonated ornoncarbonateddrinkin liquid form.
and any nonalcoholiccarbonated ornoncarbonateddrinkin liquid form.Theterm does not include any drug regulated under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Title 21 U.S.C.
Theterm does not include any drug regulated under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Title 21 U.S.C.
– A public or private company or individual who enters into an agreement with a distributor or deposit initiator to pick up empty beverage containers from redemption centers and dealers.
– A public or private companyor individual who enters into an agreement with a distributor or deposit initiator to pick up empty beverage containers from redemption centers and dealers.
The program accepts empty beverage containers from consumers with the intent to recycle them.
The program accepts emptybeverage containers from consumers with the intent to recycle them.
– A community determined by the Department to include a concentration of low-income households, people of color – including indigenous peoples, or households lacking English language proficiency.
– A community determined by the Department to include a concentration of low-income households, people of color – including indigenous peoples, or households lackingEnglish language proficiency.
(12) Processing payment.
Page 2 House Bill 344-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (12) Processing payment.
Page 2 DRH30136-MHa-55 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (13) Producer responsibility organization.
(13) Producer responsibility organization.
§ 501(c), § 501(d)) and created by a group of distributors to fulfill their obligations under this Part.
§ 501(c), § 501(d)) and created bya group of distributors to fulfill their obligations under this Part.
The use of materials as fuel, a fuel substitute, or for energy production.
The use of materials as fuel, a fuel substitute, or for energyproduction.
– An automated device that can accurately recognize the universal product code on containers to determine if the container is redeemable and accumulates information regarding containers redeemed, including the number of such containers redeemed, thereby enabling the device to accept containers from redeemers, issue a receipt for DRH30136-MHa-55 Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 their refund value, transmit data for reconciliation, sort, and compact the container to cancel it.
– An automated device that can accurately recognize the universal product code on containers to determine if the container is redeemable and accumulates information regarding containers House Bill 344-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 redeemed, including the number of such containers redeemed, thereby enabling the device to accept containers from redeemers, issue a receipt for their refund value, transmit data for reconciliation, sort, and compact the container to cancel it.
(a) Every consumer who purchases a beverage in a beverage container shall pay a deposit equal to the refund value under subsection (b) of this section.
(a) Everyconsumer who purchases a beverage in a beverage container shall paya deposit equal to the refund value under subsection (b) of this section.
(c) Every beverage container that contains a beverage that is sold or offered for sale in this State shall (i) clearly indicate by embossing or imprinting on the normal product label, or in the case of metal beverage containers, on the top of the container the words "North Carolina" or the initials "N.C." and the refund value of the container in not less than 1/4 inch type size and (ii) include a UPC barcode to identify and validate participation in the refund program as set forth in this section.
(c) Every beverage container that contains a beverage that is sold or offered for sale in this State shall (i) clearly indicate by embossing or imprinting on the normal product label, or in the case of metal beverage containers, on the top of the container the words "North Carolina" or the initials "N.C." and the refund value of the container in not less than 1/4 inch type size and (ii) Page 4 House Bill 344-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 include a UPC barcode to identify and validate participation in the refund program as set forth in this section.
Page 4 DRH30136-MHa-55 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (d) Every five years, beginning July 1,2028, the Department shall do all of the following:
(d) Everyfive years, beginning July1, 2028, the Department shall do all of the following:
(a) A dealer shall accept at their place of business from a redeemer any empty beverage containerduringany period that thedealer is open forbusiness, regardless ofwhetherthe specific beverage container was sold by the dealer, as long as the beverage container is made of the same type of material as the beverage containers sold by the dealer.
(a) A dealer shall accept at their place of business from a redeemer any empty beverage containerduringanyperiod that thedealer is open forbusiness, regardless ofwhetherthe specific beverage container was sold by the dealer, as long as the beverage container is made of the same House Bill 344-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 type of material as the beverage containers sold by the dealer.
DRH30136-MHa-55 Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (b) A dealer or redemption center may refuse to accept from a redeemer any empty beveragecontainerthat is not clean,is broken,orcontains foreign material orothercontaminants.
(b) A dealer or redemption center may refuse to accept from a redeemer any empty beveragecontainerthat is not clean,is broken,orcontains foreign material orothercontaminants.
(d) Beginning threeyearsaftertheeffectivedateofthis act, theDepartment shall increase the handling fee by one cent (1¢) if there is less than one point of redemption for every 3,000 persons in each county within the State or there is less than one point of redemption for every 3,000 persons in an environmental justice community.
(d) Beginningthree yearsaftertheeffectivedateofthis act, theDepartment shall increase the handling fee by one cent (1¢) if there is less than one point of redemption for every 3,000 persons in each county within the State or there is less than one point of redemption for every 3,000 persons in an environmental justice community.
(b) Beverage containers collected, processed, sorted, and delivered to distributors by entities that collect curbsiderecyclingshall not beincluded in thecalculations oftheperformance requirements set in G.S.
Page 6 House Bill 344-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (b) Beverage containers collected, processed, sorted, and delivered to distributors by entities that collect curbsiderecyclingshall not beincluded in thecalculations of theperformance requirements set in G.S.
Page 6 DRH30136-MHa-55 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (a) The following performance standards apply with respect to redemption of beverage containers:
(a) The following performance standards apply with respect to redemption of beverage containers:
(1) Beginning July 1, 2027, at least seventy percent (70%) of single-use beverage containers sold in the State shall be recycled.
(1) Beginning July1, 2027, at least seventy percent (70%) of single-use beverage containers sold in the State shall be recycled.
(a) Each deposit initiatorwhoreceiveddeposits under this act shall segregate thedeposits in a deposit transaction fund maintained separately from all other revenues.
(a) Each deposit initiatorwhoreceiveddeposits under this act shall segregate thedeposits in a deposit transaction fund maintained separatelyfrom all other revenues.
The Beverage Container Litter Reduction Account is a nonreverting fund that consists of unredeemed refund values remitted by distributors to the Department under G.S.
The Beverage Container Litter Reduction Account is a House Bill 344-First Edition Page 7 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 nonreverting fund that consists of unredeemed refund values remitted by distributors to the Department under G.S.
DRH30136-MHa-55 Page 7 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (b) The Beverage Container Litter Reduction Account shall be used to fund the following:
(b) The Beverage Container Litter Reduction Account shall be used to fund the following:
After all expenditures under subsection (b) of this section havebeen made, thebalanceremaining in theBeverageContainerLitterReduction Account shall be credited to the Unredeemed Beverage Container Deposits Account.
After all expenditures under subsection (b) of this section havebeen made, thebalanceremainingin theBeverageContainer LitterReduction Account shall be credited to the Unredeemed Beverage Container Deposits Account.
(4) The economic impact of this Part on North Carolina retailers, distributors, and manufacturers of beverages and their containers.
Page 8 House Bill 344-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (4) The economic impact of this Part on North Carolina retailers, distributors, and manufacturers of beverages and their containers.
Page 8 DRH30136-MHa-55 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (6) The effectiveness of this Part in reducing the proportion of empty beverage containers in litter found along the State's roads and highways and along its streams and rivers.
(6) The effectiveness of this Part in reducing the proportion of empty beverage containers in litter found along the State's roads and highways and along its streams and rivers.
DRH30136-MHa-55 Page 9
House Bill 344-First Edition Page 9
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Action History

  1. Passed 1st Reading

  2. Ref to the Com on Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  3. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 14 co-sponsors · 162 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (14)

Not signed on (162)

162 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 162 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety environment transportation
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 344?
HB 344 is sponsored by James Roberson (Democratic), Lindsey Prather (Democratic), Rodney D. Pierce (Democratic), Garland E. Pierce (Democratic), Marcia Morey (Democratic), Nasif Majeed (U), Carolyn G. Logan (Democratic), Maria Cervania (Democratic), Deb Butler (Democratic), Gloristine Brown (Democratic), Cynthia Ball (Democratic), Eric Ager (Democratic), Pricey Harrison (Democratic), Zack Hawkins (Democratic), Kanika Brown (Democratic), Cecil Brockman (Democratic), and Julie von Haefen (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 344?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced March 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 344?
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