As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise:

“Auditor” means the office of the auditor.

“Commercial passenger vessel” means any domestic or foreign-flagged marine vessel or air carrier used primarily for transporting persons to, from, or within the State. The term does not include:

(1) Marine vessels authorized to carry fewer than fifty passengers; or

(2) Marine vessels for hire that do not provide overnight accommodations for at least fifty passengers, determined with reference to the number of lower berths and based on an average of two persons per cabin.

“Consumer” means a person who buys a beverage in a deposit beverage container for use or consumption and pays the deposit.

“Dealer” means a person who engages in the sale of beverages in deposit beverage containers to a consumer for off-premises consumption in the State.

“Department” means the department of health.

“Deposit beverage” means beer, ale, or other drink produced by fermenting malt, mixed spirits, mixed wine, tea and coffee drinks regardless of dairy-derived product content, soda, or noncarbonated water, and all nonalcoholic drinks in liquid form and intended for internal human consumption that is contained in a deposit beverage container.

The term “deposit beverage” excludes the following:

(1) A liquid that is:

(A) A syrup;

(B) In a concentrated form; or

(C) Typically added as a minor flavoring ingredient in food or drink, such as extracts, cooking additives, sauces, or condiments;

(2) A liquid that is a drug, medical food, or infant formula as defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.);

(3) A single serving of one ounce or less of a dietary supplement as defined in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-417);

(4) A liquid that the department finds to be the sole item of a meal or diet;

(5) Products frozen at the time of sale to the consumer, or, in the case of institutional users such as hospitals and nursing homes, at the time of sale to the users;

(6) Products designed to be consumed in a frozen state;

(7) Instant drink powders;

(8) Seafood, meat, or vegetable broths, or soups, but not juices; and

(9) Milk and all other dairy-derived products, except tea and coffee drinks with trace amounts of these products.

“Deposit beverage container” means the individual, separate, sealed glass, polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene, or metal container less than or equal to sixty-eight fluid ounces, used for containing, at the time of sale to the consumer, a deposit beverage intended for use or consumption in this State.

“Deposit beverage distributor” means a person who is a manufacturer of beverages in deposit beverage containers in this State, or who imports and engages in the sale of filled deposit beverage containers to a dealer or consumer. The term includes federal agencies and military distributors, but does not include airlines and shipping companies that merely transport deposit beverage containers.

“Import” means to buy, bring, or accept delivery of deposit beverage containers from an address, supplier, or any entity outside of the State.

“Importer” means any person who buys, brings, or accepts delivery of deposit beverage containers from outside the State for sale or use within the State.

“On-premises consumption” means the consuming of deposit beverages by a patron immediately and within the area under control of the establishment, including bars, restaurants, passenger ships, and airplanes.

“Patron” means a person who buys a beverage in a deposit beverage container for use or consumption and does not pay the deposit.

“Person” means individual, partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, federal agency, the State or any of its political subdivisions, trust, estate, or any other legal entity.

“Recycling facility” means all contiguous land and structures and other appurtenances, and improvements on the land used for the collection, separation, recovery, and sale [or] reuse of secondary resources that would otherwise be disposed of as municipal solid waste, and is an integral part of a manufacturing process aimed at producing a marketable product made of postconsumer material.

“Redeemer” means a person, other than a dealer or distributor, who demands the refund value in exchange for the empty deposit beverage container.

“Redemption center” means an operation which accepts from consumers and provides the refund value for empty deposit beverage containers intended to be recycled and ensures that the empty deposit beverage containers are properly recycled.

“Redemption rate” means the percentage of deposit beverage containers redeemed over a reporting period. The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of deposit beverage containers redeemed by the number of deposit beverage containers sold and then multiplying that number by one hundred.

“Refillable beverage container” means any deposit beverage container which ordinarily would be returned to the manufacturer to be refilled and resold.

“Reverse vending machine” means a mechanical device, which accepts one or more types of empty deposit beverage containers and issues a redeemable credit slip with a value not less than the container’s refund value. The refund value payments shall be aggregated and then paid if more than one container is redeemed in a single transaction.