Title 23
Health and Safety

Chapter 18.13
Toxic Packaging Reduction Act

R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18.13-4

§ 23-18.13-4. Prohibition — Schedule for removal of incidental amounts.

(a) No package or packaging component shall be offered for sale or for promotional purposes by its manufacturer or distributor in the state, which includes, in the package itself or in any packaging component, inks, dyes, pigments, adhesives, stabilizers, or any other additives, any lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium that has been intentionally introduced as an element during manufacturing or distribution as opposed to the incidental presence of any of these elements.

(b) No product shall be offered for sale or for promotional purposes by its manufacturer or distributor in the state in a package which includes, in the package itself or in any of its packaging components, inks, dyes, pigments, adhesives, stabilizers, or any other additives, any lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium that has been intentionally introduced as an element during manufacturing or distribution as opposed to the incidental presence of any of these elements.

(c) The sum on the concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium present in any package or packaging component shall not exceed 100 parts per million by weight (0.01%).

(d) Effective July 31, 2024, no food package to which PFAS have been intentionally introduced during manufacturing or distribution in any amount shall be offered for sale or for promotional purposes by its manufacturer or distributor in the state.

(e) No substitute material used to replace a chemical regulated by this chapter in a package or packaging component may be used in a quantity or manner that creates a hazard as great as or greater than the hazard created by the chemical regulated by this act. The certificate of compliance required by § 23-18.13-6 shall require an assurance to this effect.

(f) Interstate clearinghouse. The department is authorized to participate in the establishment and implementation of a regional or national, multi-state clearinghouse to assist in carrying out the requirements of this chapter and to help coordinate reviews of the regulatory applicability, certificates of compliance, education and outreach activities, and any other related functions. The clearinghouse may also maintain reports on the effectiveness of the program, certificates of analysis and compliance for product packaging.

History of Section.
P.L. 1990, ch. 149, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 77; P.L. 2022, ch. 293, § 1, effective June 29, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 294, § 1, effective June 29, 2022; P.L. 2023, ch. 257, § 2, effective June 22, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 258, § 2, effective June 22, 2023.