Two members of the California State Assembly have introduced AB 1509 that, if enacted, would require establishment of a used lithium ion battery stewardship program by manufacturers and retailers.
The bill is intended to address the fire safety problems purportedly facing municipal recycling programs from the collection of used batteries. The bill is titled the “LITHIUM-ION BATTERY FIRE PREVENTION ACT,” and its Section 1 references some of these fires and the risks purportedly posed by lithium ion batteries. One of the bill’s sponsors also prepared an explanatory document.
The bill will first be heard by the Assembly’s Environmental Safety and Toxics Review (ES&TR) Committee on Tuesday, April 9th.