§342G-117  Handling fees and refund valuesfor certified redemption centers.  (a)  The department shall pay to eachcertified redemption center a handling fee of not less than the prevailingdeposit beverage container fee for each deposit beverage container redeemed bya consumer that is:

(1)  Transported out-of-state;

(2)  Received by an approved in-state company for anapproved end use for recycling; or

(3)  Received by a department-permitted recyclingfacility;

provided that the deposit beverage container isphysically received by the redemption center.

(b)  The department shall evaluate the handlingfee at least once per year.  If the department changes the amount of thehandling fee, the department shall publish notice of the change within thirtydays of its determination.

(c)  The handling fee shall be paid in additionto the refund value of each empty deposit beverage container.  Payments forhandling fees shall be based on redemption center reports submitted to thedepartment; provided that there is no discrepancy in the reports.  Thedepartment may choose to pay the handling fee and refund value on the basis ofthe total weight of the containers received by material type and the averageweight of each container type; provided that the deposit beverage container isphysically received by the redemption center.

(d)  A handling fee and refund value may onlybe paid once for each container redeemed by a consumer and claimed by aredemption center in accordance with section 342G-119. [L 2002, c 176, pt of§2; am L 2004, c 241, §10; am L 2007, c 285, §10]