42422.1. A stewardship plan for covered batteries shall include all of the following:
(a) The names of producers, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 42420.1, and brands of covered batteries covered under the stewardship plan.
(b) A description of the process by which the program operator consulted with the advisory body created pursuant to Section 42422.4 to receive advice on the development and implementation of the stewardship plan.
(c) A description of methodologies for measuring, and meeting or exceeding, the established minimum recycling efficiency rate for primary and rechargeable batteries to meet the annual report requirement in subdivision (i) of Section 42424.1.
(d) A description of how the program operator will provide for a free at drop off and convenient collection system for covered batteries in each county of the state that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) A minimum of 10 collection sites per county or one collection site per 15,000 people, whichever is greater, except as identified below:
(A) A county with a population of 18,000 and under, as reported annually by the Department of Finance, shall have a minimum of three collection locations.
(B) A county with a population of between 18,001 and 50,000, as reported annually by the Department of Finance, shall have a minimum of four collection locations.
(C) A county with a population between 50,001 and 100,000, as reported annually by the Department of Finance, shall have a minimum of eight collection locations.
(2) The collection sites required by subdivision (d) shall not be required to collect covered batteries that are damaged, defective, or recalled.
(3) The collection sites in each county shall be spread throughout the county to facilitate widespread access and convenience. This paragraph does not authorize the department to require more than the minimum number of collection sites required pursuant to paragraph (1) or the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to Section 42420.2.
(e) A description of how collection sites will be authorized and managed, including both of the following:
(1) An explanation of the process by which the program operator will, upon request, provide to a household hazardous waste collection facility as defined in Section 25218.1 of the Health and Safety Code, at no cost, and to all other collection sites, at cost, packaging consistent with the requirements found in the United States Department of Transportation’s hazardous materials regulations and the necessary forms and instructions for the safe collection and transportation of damaged or defective covered batteries.
(2) An explanation of the process by which the program operator will provide for the collection and transport of covered batteries from the collection sites to a recycler and how shipments will be documented. A program operator shall maintain these records and make them available to the department upon request.
(f) A program operator shall allow a consumer to drop off at a collection site, at no charge at drop off, covered batteries.
(g) A description of how the program operator will provide collection sites at no cost to the collection sites with appropriate containers for covered batteries subject to its program, training, signage, safety guidance, and educational materials.
(h) All handling, collection, transport, and recycling of covered batteries undertaken as part of a stewardship program under this chapter shall comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations, but the department may not take enforcement action under this chapter against a program operator for failure to comply with those state and federal laws and regulations unless the program operator is first determined to have violated the applicable state or federal law or regulation by the governing body with jurisdiction to enforce the state or federal law or regulation.
(i) A retailer with five or more locations in the state shall make all locations serve as permanent collection sites for covered batteries, and shall comply with the rules and conditions of the program in which it participates, as part of a stewardship program.
(j) No program operator shall be required, as a condition of approval of its plan or program or otherwise, to accept damaged, defective, or recalled batteries at sites served by the program operator. Program operators shall provide to sites participating in their programs, information for persons seeking to recycle damaged or defective batteries informing those persons of the requirements for doing so and of the closest location at which damaged or defective batteries may be accepted. Program operators shall provide to sites participating in their programs information for persons seeking to recycle recalled batteries informing those persons of instructions to contact any entity recalling batteries to determine the appropriate handling of those batteries.
(k) (1) A description of the method to establish and administer a means for fully funding the stewardship program in a manner that equitably distributes the stewardship program’s costs among the producers that are part of the stewardship organization. For producers that elect to meet the requirements of this chapter individually, without joining a stewardship organization, a description of the proposed method to establish and administer a means for fully funding the stewardship program.
(2) The stewardship plan shall include a stewardship program budget, for the next three calendar years, that includes a funding level and anticipated revenues and costs sufficient to cover the budgeted costs, including, but not limited to, administrative costs, operational costs, and capital costs, to operate the stewardship program in a prudent and responsible manner. Administrative costs shall include the department’s and the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s anticipated actual, reasonable, and direct regulatory costs to implement and enforce this chapter as the criteria for all the costs are defined in the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 42420.2. For purposes of this paragraph, stewardship program implementation begins once the department approves a program operator’s stewardship plan, except the department’s and the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s costs shall include actual, reasonable, and direct regulatory development costs and other startup regulatory costs incurred prior to stewardship plan submittal and approval.
(l) A description of the process by which covered batteries will be processed and recycled following collection at collection sites, including all of the following:
(1) A description of how covered batteries will be handled and recycled, including how covered batteries will not be disposed of by the program operator and a description of how the recycling of all covered batteries will be maximized.
(2) A description of how discarded covered battery residual materials will, to the extent economically and technically feasible, be recycled and a description of how contracts with service providers will require that this be done and how the contractor will accomplish this.
(3) A description of how the program operator will prioritize the use of recycling facilities located closer to the point of generation to minimize transportation emissions and increase accountability.
(m) Coordination with, and a description of the efforts and methods used to coordinate activities with, all of the following entities who are responsive to a request from the program operator:
(1) Other program operators.
(2) Existing battery collection and recycling programs, including electronic waste recyclers and dismantlers.
(3) Community-based organizations that contact the program operator and that are qualified to run or support collection events.
(n) Consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Task Force regarding methods to supplement those of the program operator to collect covered batteries for recycling in areas and communities that face unique challenges associated with proper waste management, such as poverty, language barriers, and illegal disposal.
(o) A comprehensive statewide education and outreach program designed to educate consumers and promote participation in the collection and recycling program offered by the program operator. At a minimum, the comprehensive statewide education and outreach program shall include all of the following:
(1) A description of the education and communications strategy being implemented to effectively promote participation in the approved covered battery stewardship program and provide the information necessary for effective participation of consumers, retailers, and others.
(2) An internet website that publicizes the location of collection sites and provides information to consumers on the free at drop off and convenient network of collection sites offered by the stewardship program and any other information reasonably necessary to safely and conveniently access the collection and recycling services offered in the state.
(3) All signage and materials required for collection sites by the program operator, and the method by which collection sites can access replacement materials at no cost to the collection site.
(4) A description of efforts to support participation by all California communities, including a description of efforts to communicate with consumers in languages other than English, as described in subdivision (n).
(5) A description of goals and metrics used to determine the success of the statewide education and outreach program.
(6) The statewide education and outreach program shall promote the safe and proper management of covered batteries.
(7) The statewide education and outreach program shall not promote the disposal of covered batteries in a manner inconsistent with the services offered by the stewardship plan.
(8) The statewide education and outreach plan shall include information for consumers about how to avoid improper disposal of covered batteries.
(9) A description of how the program operators will annually assess and evaluate the efficacy of the comprehensive statewide education and outreach program and periodically adjust strategies to maximize participation in the stewardship program.
(10) (A) Any program operator serving more than one producer shall coordinate with other program operators on the education and outreach programs that they implement pursuant to this subdivision.
(B) The department may approve multiple program operators sharing, on an equitable basis, the costs of implementing elements of the program that benefit all approved plans serving more than one producer and the program operators sponsoring them, except those costs specified in paragraphs (2) and (9).
(p) Developing strategies in coordination with other program operators to develop and implement proper labeling of covered batteries to ensure proper collection and recycling, by identifying the chemistry of the covered battery and including an indication that the covered battery should not be disposed of as household waste
(q) A contingency plan in the event the stewardship plan expires, is disapproved, or is revoked. The contingency plan shall describe how the stewardship plan objectives can be carried out in the absence of a plan, either by the program operator or through an entity such as an escrow company.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 351, Sec. 1. (AB 2440) Effective January 1, 2023.)