US California - Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Program

Existing law, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006, requires every retailer, as defined, to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of used rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal. Existing law requires the system for the acceptance and collection of used rechargeable batteries to include, at a minimum, specified elements, including, among others, the take-back of a used rechargeable battery of the type or brand that the retailer sold or previously sold at no cost to the consumer. Existing law defines “rechargeable battery” for purposes of these provisions to mean a small, nonvehicular, rechargeable nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium-ion, or sealed lead-acid battery, or a battery pack containing these types of batteries.

This bill would establish the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Program in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The bill would require a covered entity, as defined, on or before March 1, 2021, to provide a list of covered products that it sells or offers for sale in the state to the department and the total number of each covered product it sold in the state during the prior year, and to update those lists annually. The bill would define “covered product” to mean a lithium-ion battery sold separately or sold with a product, or a product containing a lithium-ion battery or battery pack that is not designed to be removed from the product by a consumer. The bill would require a covered entity to annually achieve specified collection and recycling rates for covered products, as provided. The bill would require a covered entity to establish a stewardship program for covered batteries independently or as part of a group of covered entities through membership in a stewardship organization. The bill would authorize a covered entity to achieve the recycling rates for covered battery-embedded products through any of specified mechanisms, including through a take-back program in which the retailer offers consumers covered battery-embedded product take-back services through collection receptacles or a mail-back program. The bill would require a covered entity to pay the department an administrative fee, set by the department at an amount that, when paid by every covered entity, is adequate to cover the department’s, and any other state agency’s, full costs of administering and enforcing this program. The bill would require the department to deposit those administrative fees in the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Cost of Implementation Account, which would be established by the bill, and would authorize the expenditure of those funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for certain purposes. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to adopt regulations to implement the program.

This bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to amend the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 to allow for the recovery and recycling of lithium-ion batteries and products containing lithium-ion batteries under the existing program established by the act.​