For purposes of sections 22a-243 to 22a-245c, inclusive:

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(1) “Carbonated beverage” means beer or other malt beverages, hard seltzer, hard cider and mineral waters, soda water and similar carbonated soft drinks in liquid form and intended for human consumption. “Carbonated beverage” does not include any product that contains wine or spirits;

(2) “Noncarbonated beverage” means any water, including flavored water, plant water, nutritionally enhanced water, juice, juice drink, tea, coffee, kombucha, plant infused drink, sports drink or energy drink and any beverage that is identified through the use of letters, words or symbols on such beverage’s product label as a type of water, juice, tea, coffee, kombucha, plant infused drink, sports drink or energy drink but excluding mineral water. “Noncarbonated beverage” does not include any product that contains wine or spirits, any food for special dietary use, as defined in 21 USC 350(c)(3), or any medical food, as defined in 21 USC 360ee(b)(3);

(3) “Beverage container” means the individual, separate, sealed glass, metal or plastic bottle, can, jar or carton containing three liters or less of a carbonated beverage, or two and one-half liters or less of a noncarbonated beverage. “Beverage container” does not include any such bottle, can, jar or carton that contains less than one hundred fifty milliliters of any such carbonated or noncarbonated beverage;

(4) “Consumer” means every person who purchases a beverage in a beverage container for use or consumption;

(5) “Dealer” means every person who engages in the sale of beverages in beverage containers to a consumer;

(6) “Distributor” means every person who engages in the sale of beverages in beverage containers to a dealer in this state including any manufacturer who engages in such sale and includes a dealer who engages in the sale of beverages in beverage containers on which no deposit has been collected prior to retail sale;

(7) “Manufacturer” means every person bottling, canning or otherwise filling beverage containers for sale to distributors or dealers or, in the case of private label brands, the owner of the private label trademark;

(8) “Place of business of a dealer” means the fixed location at which a dealer sells or offers for sale beverages in beverage containers to consumers;

(9) “Redemption center” means any facility established to redeem empty beverage containers from consumers or to collect and sort empty beverage containers from dealers and to prepare such containers for redemption by the appropriate distributors;

(10) “Use or consumption” includes the exercise of any right or power over a beverage incident to the ownership thereof, other than the sale or the keeping or retention of a beverage for the purposes of sale;

(11) “Nonrefillable beverage container” means a beverage container which is not designed to be refilled and reused in its original shape;

(12) “Deposit initiator” means the first distributor to collect the deposit on a beverage container sold to any person within this state; and

(13) “Reverse vending machine” means a mechanical device that accepts used beverage containers from consumers and provides a means of refunding the refund value for such beverage container to the user of such device.