(1) Two or more distributors or importers may establish a distributor cooperative for the purposes of:

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(a) Collecting the refund value of beverage containers specified in ORS § 459A.705 from distributors or importers and refunding to dealers the amount the dealers paid for the refund value of empty beverage containers;

(b) Paying the refund value specified in ORS § 459A.705 for beverage containers sold in this state;

(c) Processing beverage containers sold in this state; and

(d) Maintaining a registry of all beverage containers sold and redeemed in this state.

(2) A distributor cooperative established under this section must service a majority of the dealers in this state.

(3) If a distributor cooperative is established, a dealer that uses the distributor cooperative to redeem and process beverage containers sold in this state is not required to return beverage containers to a distributor or importer that does not participate in the distributor cooperative, provided that the dealer or the distributor cooperative provides an accounting to the distributor or importer of the beverage containers by brand and kind that were distributed by the distributor or importer and subsequently redeemed by the dealer or distributor cooperative.

(4) Upon receipt of the accounting required by subsection (3) of this section, a distributor or importer that does not participate in the distributor cooperative must pay the refund value of the redeemed beverage containers specified in the accounting to the dealer or distributor cooperative that provided the accounting.

(5) A distributor or importer that does not participate in a distributor cooperative to redeem and process beverage containers shall register with the distributor cooperative as a nonparticipating distributor or importer and shall report, in a form and manner as required by the distributor cooperative, information necessary for the distributor cooperative to maintain the beverage container registry described in subsection (6) of this section.

(6) A distributor cooperative shall maintain a registry of all types of beverage containers sold and redeemed in this state for all registered entities that describes the beverage containers using the following information for each beverage container:

(a) The name of the beverage contained in the beverage container as identified through the use of letters, words or symbols on the product label affixed to the beverage container;

(b) The type of beverage contained in the beverage container using an appropriate categorization method for beverages as determined by the distributor cooperative;

(c) The size of the beverage container;

(d) Whether the beverage container is glass, metal or plastic; and

(e) If applicable, the universal product code or European article number on the product label affixed to the beverage container.

(7)(a) For purposes of this subsection, beverage container return data is the number of beverage containers returned for the refund value specified in ORS § 459A.705 in Oregon during the calendar year and the number of beverage containers that carry a refund value specified in ORS § 459A.705 sold in Oregon during the calendar year, calculated separately.

(b) By July 1 of each calendar year, a distributor cooperative shall provide the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission with a report that lists, in aggregate form:

(A) For all distributors and importers that participate in the distributor cooperative, the previous calendar year’s beverage container return data, calculated separately for glass, metal and plastic beverage containers; and

(B) The registry of all beverage containers sold and redeemed in this state during the previous calendar year.

(c) By July 1 of each calendar year, a distributor or importer that does not participate in a distributor cooperative shall provide the commission with a report that lists the distributor’s or the importer’s beverage container return data for the previous calendar year, calculated separately for glass, metal and plastic beverage containers.

(8)(a) By August 1 of each calendar year, using the beverage container return data provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission shall calculate the previous calendar year’s percentage of beverage containers returned for the refund value specified in ORS § 459A.705 for each distributor cooperative. The commission shall carry out the calculation separately for glass, metal and plastic beverage containers and shall post the percentages on the commission’s website.

(b) By August 1 of each calendar year, using the beverage container return data provided in subsection (7)(c) of this section, the commission shall calculate the previous calendar year’s percentage of beverage containers returned for the refund value specified in ORS § 459A.705 for each distributor or importer that does not participate in a distributor cooperative. The commission shall carry out the calculation separately for glass, metal and plastic beverage containers and shall post the percentages on the commission’s website.

(c) By August 1 of each calendar year, using the beverage container return data provided in subsection (7)(b) and (c) of this section, the commission shall calculate the previous calendar year’s percentage of beverage containers returned for the refund value specified in ORS § 459A.705 for all distributors and importers in Oregon. The commission shall carry out the calculation for all beverage containers, and separately for glass, metal and plastic beverage containers, and shall post the percentages on the commission’s website.

(d) Except for the percentages described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection or in a proceeding under ORS § 459A.717 for a violation of subsection (7) of this section, the commission may not disclose any information provided by a distributor, an importer or a distributor cooperative under subsection (7) of this section.

(9)(a) In order to determine compliance with the provisions of subsection (7) of this section, within six months of the date that the commission receives a report described in subsection (7)(b) and (c) of this section, the commission may review or audit the records of each reporting distributor cooperative, or each reporting distributor or importer that does not participate in a distributor cooperative.

(b)(A) If in the course of a review described in paragraph (a) of this subsection the commission determines that an audit of a distributor cooperative, distributor or importer is necessary, the commission shall require the distributor cooperative, distributor or importer to retain an independent financial audit firm to determine the accuracy of information contained in the report. The distributor cooperative, distributor or importer that is the subject of review shall pay the costs of the audit. The audit must be limited to the records described in paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(B) The commission shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this paragraph.

(10) No later than February 15 of each year, a distributor cooperative shall submit to the commission, and to the appropriate committees of the Legislative Assembly in the manner provided under ORS § 192.245, a report that describes sites, options and access points added during the previous calendar year and expansion priorities for the current calendar year. The report must include a description of the distributor cooperative’s efforts to expand and enhance alternative redemption access opportunities for individuals who redeem containers on a daily or near daily basis. [2012 c.100 § 2; 2013 c.157 § 4; 2019 c.183 § 1; 2021 c.351 § 28; 2022 c.80 § 6]