BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 515
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 515
AUTHOR: Corbett
AMENDED: As Introduced
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 4, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP: HOUSEHOLD BATTERIES
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Prohibits the disposal of some common or "universal" wastes
in solid waste landfills (California Code of Regulations,
Title 22, Division 4.5, Chapter 23). Universal wastes are
hazardous wastes that are generated by a wide variety of
sources that contain mercury, lead, cadmium, copper and
other substances hazardous to human and environmental
health. Examples of these wastes are household batteries,
fluorescent tubes, and some electronic devices.
2) Pursuant to the Dry Cell Battery Management Act,
establishes requirements for the production and labeling of
consumer products with dry cell batteries and sets limits
for the amount of mercury in those batteries. (Public
Resources Code �15000 et seq.).
3) Pursuant to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act,
establishes a mandatory take-back program for rechargeable
batteries at retail locations. (�42451 et seq.).
4) Pursuant to the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008,
requires manufacturers of mercury-added thermostats sold in
this state before January 1, 2006, to establish and
maintain a collection, transportation, recycling, and
disposal program for out-of-service mercury-added
thermostats. (Health and Safety Code �25214.8.10 et seq.).
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5) Pursuant to the Product Stewardship for Carpets Program,
requires manufacturers of carpet sold in California to
submit a carpet product stewardship plan to the Department
of Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR) that
demonstrates how it will manage its waste carpet. (�42970
et seq.).
6) Pursuant to the Architectural Paint Recovery Program,
requires architectural paint manufacturers to develop and
implement a program to manage waste latex paint. (�48700
et seq.).
This bill :
1)Requires, by September 30, 2012, a producer or the product
stewardship organization created by one or more producers of
household batteries to develop and submit, in consultation
with stakeholders, a product stewardship plan (plan) to
DRRR.
2)Defines "producer" as:
a) The person who manufactures the household battery and
who sells, offers for sale, or distributes that household
battery in the state under that person's own name or
brand, or
b) If there is no person who sells, offers for sale, or
distributes the household battery in the state under the
person's own name or brand, the producer of the household
battery is the owner or licensee of a trademark or brand
under which the household battery is sold or distributed
in the state, whether or not the trademark is registered,
or
c) If there is no person who is a producer of the
household battery as determined above, the producer of
that household battery is the person who imports the
household battery into the state for sale or
distribution.
3)Exempts household batteries that are sold in a covered
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electric device, as defined, and those that are not easily
removed or not intended to be removed from the product other
than by the manufacturer.
4)Establishes requirements for the elements of the plan that
describe how it will institute, implement, finance, and
oversee a program to manage household batteries to achieve
the collection rates below.
5)Establishes collection rates for household batteries of 25%
by January 1, 2015, 45% by January 1, 2017, and on January
1, 2018 and annually thereafter the manufacturer must
demonstrate continuous meaningful improvement in the
collection rate.
6)Requires DRRR to review the plans and deem them complete or
incomplete within 45 days and establishes a procedure for
addressing deficiencies.
7)Requires producers, on or before April 1, 2014, to submit an
annual report describing implementation of the plan
including sales data from the previous calendar year.
8)Requires DRRR, on or before July 1, 2013, and annually
thereafter to list on its website a list of the brands of
household batteries that are in compliance.
9)Prohibits the sale of household batteries in California
unless the producer has submitted a plan that has been
deemed complete.
10)Requires producers to pay to DRRR administrative fees to
cover expenses for review of the initial plan and review of
the subsequent annual reports but specifies that the fees
cannot exceed costs to recover costs incurred to administer
and enforce this bill's requirements.
11)Establishes the Household Battery Stewardship Account and
the Household Battery Stewardship Penalty Subaccount to
receive the administrative fees and penalties and specifies
that these funds are available for program implementation
upon appropriation by the Legislature.
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12)Establishes a process to determine compliance with this
bill and issuance of related penalties.
13)Allows DRRR to determine a finding of 'good faith effort'
in compliance with this article. If that finding is not
made, specified fines are allowed.
14)States that producer's involvement in implementing and
complying with this bill is not a violation of specified
anti-trust provisions.
15)Establishes an expedited permit process for universal waste
facilities.
16)Makes extensive findings and declarations related to the
management of household batteries.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, SB 515 will
require battery manufacturers to design, fund and operate a
stewardship program to properly manage batteries in order to
sell their products in California. SB 515 will also require
battery manufacturers to meet collection goals each year and
report data to DRRR who will oversee the implementation of
each manufacturer's stewardship plan. This bill is similar
to the author's SB 1100 of 2010.
2)Background .
a) Universal Waste: Universal wastes are hazardous
wastes that are ubiquitous and contain mercury, lead,
cadmium, copper and other substances hazardous to human
and environmental health. In general, universal waste
may not be discarded in solid waste landfills. Examples
of these wastes are batteries, fluorescent tubes, and
most electronic devices. Under California's Universal
Waste Rule, households were allowed to dispose
fluorescent lamps, batteries, mercury thermostats, and
electronic devices in the trash through February 8, 2006.
This is no longer the case and they are banned from
landfill disposal. Hazardous waste law describes
hazardous waste characteristics and generally states that
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wastes that demonstrate hazardous characteristics cannot
be disposed in a solid waste landfill. These rules are
based upon the hazard traits of waste, not necessarily
their behavior in the landfill.
b) Impact on Local Governments: Currently, local
household hazardous waste collection programs are the
outlet for proper management of household batteries.
Cost estimates to manage waste batteries are on average
of $800 per ton (with some costing $2700 per ton), which
amounts to tens of millions of dollars each year. Local
governments are also the default to manage the other
universal wastes such as electronics and fluorescent
light tubes. This is in addition to other hazardous
wastes such as pesticides, paint, and chemicals that
can't be disposed in a solid waste landfill. With
revenues decreasing and responsibilities increasing,
another solution is necessary to manage these products
that are problematic at the end-of-life. Many local
governments have greatly decreased, or in some instances,
shuttered, their HHW programs leaving no management
options for the public.
c) Product Stewardship: This is a rapidly expanding
concept that addresses the challenges of managing
consumer products, like household batteries, that pose
costly and problematic issues at end-of-life. According
to the California Product Stewardship Council, "Product
stewardship involves consumers, government agencies and
product manufacturers sharing the responsibility of
reducing the impact of product waste on public health,
the environment, and the economy. Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to place a shared
responsibility for end-of-life product management on the
producers, and all entities involved in the product
chain, instead of the general public; while encouraging
product design changes that minimize a negative impact on
human health and the environment at every stage of the
product's lifecycle. This allows the costs of treatment
and disposal to be incorporated into the total cost of a
product. It places primary responsibility on the
producer, or brand owner, who makes design and marketing
decisions. It also creates a setting for markets to
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emerge that truly reflect the environmental impacts of a
product, and to which producers and consumers respond."
d) Call2Recycle and Current Battery Recycling Efforts:
There is a non-profit organization that is working in
North American to collect rechargeable batteries.
According to their information, "Call2Recycle is a
program of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
(RBRC) promoting environmental sustainability by
providing free battery and cell phone recycling in North
America. The Call2Recycle program for rechargeable
battery and cell phone recycling is available to
residents, retailers, businesses, communities,
municipalities and public agencies in the U.S. and
Canada. The program was created in 1994 and is funded by
battery and product manufacturers to raise awareness
about the importance of battery recycling and to promote
product stewardship initiatives. Call2Recycle is funded
by product manufacturers across the globe committed to
environmentally-sound recycling of rechargeable batteries
and cell phones. These manufacturers representing 90% of
the rechargeable power industry place the RBRC recycling
seal on their rechargeable products and batteries,
letting users know that the batteries need to be recycled
rather than thrown in the trash."
This group is actively working with the major
manufacturers of alkaline batteries and the author's
office and other stakeholders on SB 515.
3)Support and Opposition Arguments . Supporters generally
state that the product stewardship approach is the preferred
way to manage problematic waste streams including household
batteries and ensures the end-of-life management costs are
not passed on to local governments or taxpayers. Many state
that they believe that the program will result in high
recovery rates because of increased convenience.
Groups in opposition generally state that SB 515 unfairly
places responsibility for batteries contained in products on
the producer of the product, not the maker of the battery.
They also state that the proposed program would be overly
burdensome and increase costs. Specifically,
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Hewlett-Packard which has a take-back program for its
branded products would like to see an exemption recognizing
its existing programs.
SOURCE : Stopwaste.org (Alameda County)
SUPPORT : Californians Against Waste
California Retailers Association
California State Association of Counties
Center for Environmental Health
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
Clean Water Action
Contra Costa Clean Water Program
Environment California
Humboldt Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management
Committee
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Napa Recycling and Waste Services
City of Roseville
City and County of San Francisco
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
City of Santa Monica
Sierra Cost Management
Sierra Club California
Solid Waste Association of North America
City of Sunnyvale
Tehama County Sanitary Landfill Agency
City of Torrance
City of Vernon
OPPOSITION : BIOCOM
The Grocers Manufacturing Association
Hewlett-Packard
TechAmerica
Toy Industry Association Inc.
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