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Legislation to ensure easy access to safe battery disposal passed the Senate Appropriations Committee today. SB 1215, authored by Senator Josh Newman, will create a statewide collection and recycling program for consumer batteries and battery-embedded products. This legislation is a reintroduction of SB 298, which stalled in Senate Appropriations last year.
“Expended batteries contain toxic materials and pose fire risks in waste disposal systems, yet people dispose of millions of batteries improperly each year for lack of an efficient statewide battery recycling system,” said Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton). “Discarding batteries and the products that contain batteries should be easy and free for all Californians. SB 1215 will provide a safe, convenient and accessible system for consumers to dispose of depleted batteries and will replace our current labyrinthine and unsafe process.”
Because of the hazardous metals and corrosive materials that batteries contain, California classifies batteries as hazardous waste and bans them from solid waste landfills. When improperly discarded, batteries pose serious fire, health and safety hazards that disrupt our waste stream and poison our environment.
SB 1215 will require the producers of batteries and battery-embedded products sold in California to develop, finance and implement this program in collaboration with CalRecycle.
SB 1215 will head next to the Senate floor for a vote next week.
This bill is supported by RethinkWaste, California Product Stewardship Council, Californians Against Waste, LA County Sanitation Districts, Rural County Representatives of California, Active San Gabriel Valley, California Resource Recovery Association, California State Association of Counties, California Waste Haulers Council, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, City Of Roseville, City Of Thousand Oaks, County of San Diego, Clean Water Action, CR&R, Inc., Delta Diablo, Environmental Working Group, League of California Cities, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Marin Household Hazardous Waste Facility, Monterey Regional Waste Management District, Napa Recycling & Waste Services, Product Stewardship Institute, RecycleSmart, Republic Services Inc., Resource Recovery Coalition of California, Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), Santa Clara County Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission, Sea Hugger, StopWaste, Urban Counties of California, Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA), Zero Waste Company and Zero Waste Sonoma.
Identical legislation in the Assembly, authored by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, also passed the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee today.
