On August 31, the California General Assembly passed Assembly Bill 2440, the California Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022. On August 30, the California Senate passed Senate Bill 1215, amending the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003. These were the final legislative actions required before sending the bills to Governor Gavin Newsom for approval.
If the Governor signs AB 2440, it will establish an (Extended Producer Responsibility) EPR program for portable rechargeable and primary batteries that are sold loose, with products, or easily removable from them. If he signs SB 1215, it will include a new category of “battery embedded products” under California’s existing E-waste law, thereby allowing the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (“CalRecycle”) to adopt regulations requiring payment of an advance-recycling-fee at the time of purchase of products from which rechargeable and primary batteries are not easily removable, and to use the collected funds to pay a bounty to recyclers of those products and cover CalRecycle’s costs.
Both of these bills are quite complicated. Assuming both become law, PRBA will be hosting meetings with the PRBA Legislative Committee over the course of the 2022 and 2023 to provide further guidance on compliance with these new laws.