BILL NUMBER: AB 1125 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Pavley
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Hancock, Koretz, Laird, Leno, Levine,
Lieber, and Saldana)
(Coauthors: Senators Kuehl and Torlakson)
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to add Chapter 8.4 (commencing with Section 42451) to Part
3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid
waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1125, as amended, Pavley Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act.
Existing law requires rechargeable batteries to be appropriately
labeled and requires the instruction manual for a rechargeable
consumer product to include information regarding the proper
recycling and disposal of the rechargeable battery. Existing law also
regulates the management of federally regulated batteries, as
defined.
This bill would enact the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of
2006 and would define terms for purposes of the act, including
"rechargeable battery."
The act would require, on and after July 1, 2006, a retailer,
defined as a person who sells makes a retail
sale of a rechargeable batteries
battery to a consumer in this state, to have in place a system
for the acceptance and collection of used rechargeable batteries for
reuse, recycling, or proper disposal with specified elements,
including the take-back at no cost to the consumer of a used
rechargeable battery, the type or brand of which the retailer sold or
previously sold.
The bill would prohibit the sale by a retailer of a rechargeable
battery to a consumer after July 1, 2006, unless the retailer
complies with the act.
The bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control,
by July 1, 2007, and each July 1 thereafter, to post on its Internet
Web site an the estimated
California recycling rate for all types of hazardous
amount of household batteries returned for recycling
.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 8.4 (commencing with Section 42451) is added to
Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 8.4. RECHARGEABLE BATTERY RECYCLING ACT OF 2006
Article 1. General Provisions
42451. (a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The Department of Toxic Substances Control has determined
that, due to their hazardous material content, the solid waste
disposal of all household and rechargeable batteries should be
prohibited. A regulation authorizing a temporary householder
exemption to this prohibition will expire, by its own terms, in
February 2006.
(2) The purpose of this chapter is to enact a comprehensive and
innovative system for the reuse, recycling, and proper and legal
disposal of previously used rechargeable batteries.
(3) It is the further purpose of this chapter to enact a law that
establishes a program that is convenient for consumers and the public
to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound
disposal of used rechargeable batteries, and that provides for a
system that does not charge the consumer when a rechargeable battery
is returned.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that the cost associated
with the handling, recycling, and disposal of used rechargeable
batteries be the responsibility of the producers and consumers of
rechargeable batteries, and not local government or their service
providers, state government, or taxpayers.
(5) In order to reduce the likelihood of illegal disposal of
hazardous materials, it is the intent of this chapter to ensure that
all costs associated with the proper management of used rechargeable
batteries is internalized by the producers and consumers of
rechargeable batteries at or before the point of purchase, and not at
the point of discard.
(6) Manufacturers and retailers of rechargeable batteries, in
working to achieve the goals and objectives of this chapter, should
have the flexibility to partner with each other and with those
private and nonprofit business enterprises that currently provide
collection and processing services to develop and promote a safe and
effective used rechargeable battery recycling system for California.
(7) The producers of household and rechargeable batteries should
reduce and, to the extent feasible, ultimately phase out the use of
hazardous materials in household and rechargeable batteries.
(8) Household and rechargeable batteries, to the greatest extent
feasible, should be designed for extended life and reuse.
(9) The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the safe, cost
free, and convenient collection, reuse, and recycling of 100 percent
of the rechargeable batteries discarded or offered for recycling in
the state.
(10) In establishing a cost-effective system for the recovery,
reuse, recycling, and proper disposal of used rechargeable batteries,
it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage manufacturers and
retailers to build on the retailer take-back systems initiated by the
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Coalition
Corporation and others.
Article 2. Definitions
42452. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(a) "Consumer" means a purchaser or owner of a rechargeable
battery. "Consumer" also includes a business, corporation, limited
partnership, nonprofit organization, or governmental entity, but does
not include an entity involved in a wholesale transaction between a
distributor and retailer.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(c) "Rechargeable battery" means a small, nonvehicular,
rechargeable nickel-cadmium or sealed lead-acid battery, or a battery
pack containing these types of batteries.
(d) "Retailer" means a person who makes a retail sale of a
rechargeable battery to a consumer in this state, including a
manufacturer of a rechargeable battery who sells that rechargeable
battery directly to a consumer. A sale includes, but is not limited
to, transactions conducted through sales outlets, catalogs, or the
Internet, or any other similar electronic means, but does not include
a sale that is a wholesale transaction with a distributor or
retailer. "Retailer" does not include a person who sells primarily
food and is listed in the Progressive Marketing Grocers Guidebook.
"Retailer" does not include a person who has less than one million
dollars ($1,000,000) annually in gross sales.
(e) (1) "Sell" or "sale" means a transfer for consideration of
title or of the right to use, by lease or sales contract, including,
but not limited to, transactions conducted through sales outlets,
catalogs, or the Internet or any other similar electronic means, but
does not include a wholesale transaction with a distributor or a
retailer.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision (d),
"distributor" means a person who sells a rechargeable battery to a
retailer.
(f) "Used rechargeable battery" means a rechargeable battery that
has been previously used and is made available, by a consumer, for
reuse, recycling, or proper disposal.
Article 3. Rechargeable Battery Recycling
42453. (a) (1) On and after July 1, 2006, every retailer shall
have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of used
rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal.
(2) A retailer is not subject to the requirements of this chapter
for the sale of rechargeable batteries that are contained in or
packaged with a battery-operated device.
(b) A system for the acceptance and collection of used
rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal
shall, at a minimum, include all of the following elements:
(1) (A) The take-back at no cost to the consumer of a used
rechargeable battery, the type or brand of which the retailer sold or
previously sold.
(B) A retailer's no-cost take-back obligation may be limited to a
quantity equal to the number sold at the time of the take-back or
previously sold to the consumer.
(2) If the retailer sells a rechargeable battery through a catalog
order, telephone order, or other method that does not involve
in-store sales, the retailer shall provide the consumer with
reasonable notice, at the time of delivery, of the requirements and
opportunities for the return of used rechargeable batteries for
reuse, recycling, or proper disposal, at no cost to the consumer.
That notice may include informational materials packaged with the
battery that direct consumers to a location in their community where
they can return used batteries at no cost to the consumer, or a
telephone number or an Internet Web site where consumers can obtain
community-specific information about the opportunities for no-cost
battery recycling.
(2) If the retailer sells a rechargeable battery through a catalog
order, telephone order, or other method that does not involve
in-store sales, the retailer shall be deemed in compliance with this
article if the retailer provides a reasonable notice either at the
time of purchase or delivery to the consumer of an opportunity to
return used rechargeable batteries at no cost for reuse, recycling,
or proper disposal.
(A) The opportunity to return the rechargeable batteries shall be
either through the retailer's take-back program established pursuant
to paragraph (1) or through participation with the Rechargeable
Battery Recycling Corporation or similar take-back and recycling
program.
(B) The notice shall include informational materials, including,
but not limited to, Internet Web site links or a telephone number,
placed on the invoice or purchase order, or packaged with the
battery, that provide consumers access to obtain more information
about the opportunities and locations for no-cost battery recycling.
(3) Making information available to consumers about rechargeable
battery recycling opportunities provided by the retailer and
encouraging consumers to utilize those opportunities. This
information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the
following:
(A) Signage that is prominently displayed and easily visible to
the consumer.
(B) Written materials provided to the consumer at the time of
purchase or delivery, or both.
(C) Reference to the rechargeable batteries recycling opportunity
in retailer advertising or other promotional materials, or both.
(D) Direct communications with the consumer at the time of
purchase.
(c) An individual retailer location that is actively participating
in the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Coalition's
Corporation's or similar battery take-back and recycling
program, and has implemented one or more of the public education
components described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall be
deemed in compliance with this article.
42454. On and after July 1, 2006, it is unlawful for a retailer
to sell a rechargeable battery to a consumer unless the retailer
complies with this chapter.
Article 4. Statewide Recycling Goals
Annual Return Data
42456. On or before July 1, 2007, and each July 1 thereafter, the
department shall post on its Internet Web site an estimated
California recycling rate for all types of hazardous household
batteries, the numerator of which shall be the estimated
number amount, by weight, of each type
of household batteries returned for recycling in California during
the previous calendar year , and the denominator of which is
the number of each type of household batteries estimated to be sold
in this state during the previous calendar year .