Nebraska Governor Pillen signed into law on May 20, 2025 The Safe Battery Collection and Recycling Act (LB 36). The new Nebraska extended producer responsibility (EPR) battery law, like Colorado’s recently passed legislation, closely follows PRBA’s model legislation on portable and medium format batteries.
The law can be found on the Nebraska Legislature website.
PRBA worked extensively with the sponsor of the legislation (Senator Jana Hughes), the Douglas County Environmental Services (Omaha area), Waste Management, and other stakeholders in Nebraska.
Nebraska follows California, Illinois, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC in enacting similar EPR battery laws. And recall that PRBA reported on May 9, 2025 that Colorado was poised to enact EPR battery legislation.
For clarification purposes, the legislation in Colorado and laws in Nebraska, Illinois, Vermont, and Washington State cover portable and medium format batteries. The California and Washington DC laws cover portable batteries. (Legislation could be introduced next year in California amending the existing law to include medium format batteries).
The Nebraska law will require battery stewardship organizations to submit plans to the Department of Environment and Energy by January 1, 2027 for approval. After January 1, 2028, no producer or retailer may sell, offer for sale or distribute in or into Nebraska covered batteries and battery-containing products unless the producers of the products are participating in an approved battery stewardship program.
For questions on these latest developments in Nebraska and the 16 other states that have introduced portable/medium format battery and EV battery EPR legislation this year, please contact Marc Boolish at 202.719.7170 or [email protected].