4. a. (1) Beginning two years after the effective date of this act, all plastic beverage containers sold or offered for sale in the State by a manufacturer shall contain, on average, at least 15 percent postconsumer recycled content.
(2) Beginning five years after the effective date of this act, and every three years thereafter, the amount of postconsumer recycled content required for plastic beverage containers pursuant to this section shall increase by five percent, until reaching 50 percent; except that the postconsumer recycled content requirement for manufacturers who utilize a hot fill process shall not exceed 30 percent.
b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not apply to a refillable beverage container. For the purposes of this subsection, "refillable beverage container" means a beverage container that holds 150 fluid ounces or less of beverage, and which is routinely returned to the manufacturer to be refilled and resold.