S. 5525 — Banning Toxics from Plastic Bottles Act of 2026

This section defines terms used in the Act, including beverage (covering water, soda, beer, juice, wine, and similar drinks up to specified exclusions), beverage container (prepackaged containers of 3 liters or less, excluding cartons), plastic, retailer, single-use, and toxic substance (covering substances subject to federal reporting or identified as carcinogens, mutagens, or persistent bioaccumulative chemicals).

This section prohibits retailers, effective 2 years after enactment, from selling, offering for sale, or distributing single-use beverage containers that contain polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyethylene glycol, or a toxic substance, or that are opaque or pigmented any color other than transparent blue or transparent green. It imposes fines of up to $50,000 per violation, with each product line counted separately.

This section establishes the Local Clean Up of Plastics Fund in the Treasury and makes amounts available without further appropriation to the Administrator for competitive grants to units of local government. The grants support improvements to solid waste infrastructure, water system infrastructure, recycling facilities, and composting facilities to increase waste diversion from landfills or meet related environmental regulations, with priority for projects serving rural areas or underserved communities.