The sale, disposal, collection, and recycling of electronic devices, granting rule-making authority, making an appropriation, and providing penalties

Under the bill, beginning on September 1, 2009, a manufacturer may not sell a covered electronic device at retail, or to a retailer for resale, unless the manufacturer registers with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), collects and recycles or arranges for the collection and recycling of certain electronic devices, makes required reports, and pays certain fees.

Beginning on February 1, 2010, the bill also prohibits a retailer from selling a covered electronic device unless the retailer determines that the manufacturer is registered with DNR.

Registration of manufacturers The bill requires a manufacturer to register annually with DNR. The registration must include a list of the manufacturer's brands that are sold in this state, contact information, and a certification that the manufacturer complies with the requirements in the bill. Beginning in 2010, the bill requires a manufacturer to disclose, when it registers, whether its covered electronic devices comply with European Union limitations on the presence of certain hazardous substances, including lead and mercury, in electronic devices.

The bill authorizes DNR to revoke the registration of a manufacturer that violates the requirements in the bill.

Collection and recycling; reporting The bill requires a manufacturer of covered electronic devices to collect and recycle or arrange for the collection and recycling of certain electronic devices that were used by individuals. Collecting more electronic devices, by weight, lowers the shortfall fees that a manufacturer is required to pay, as described below. A manufacturer is not limited to collecting electronic devices made by the manufacturer and is not limited to collecting covered electronic devices. The electronic devices that are counted as satisfying a manufacturer's obligation to collect and recycle (eligible electronic devices), in addition to covered electronic devices, include computer peripherals, digital video players, and video recorders used by individuals. Electronic devices used by businesses do not count toward a manufacturer's obligation to collect and recycle.

The bill requires a manufacturer to make annual reports to DNR of the weight of its covered electronic devices sold to individuals in this state and of the weight of eligible electronic devices collected by or on behalf of the manufacturer.

Fees The bill requires a manufacturer to pay an annual registration fee of $5,000, except that the fee for a manufacturer that sells at least 25 but fewer than 100 covered electronic devices in this state in a year is $1,250 and a manufacturer that sells fewer than 25 covered electronic devices is not required to pay a registration fee.

The bill also provides for shortfall fees. Whether a manufacturer must pay a shortfall fee and the amount of the fee is based on the weight of a manufacturer's covered electronic devices sold and the weight of eligible electronic devices recycled by or on behalf of the manufacturer. Manufacturers are allowed to count eligible electronic devices collected from individuals in rural counties (identified in the bill) as weighing 1.25 times their actual weight.

If a manufacturer meets its target recycling weight, which is 0.8 times the weight of its covered electronic devices sold in a year, it is not required to pay a shortfall fee. If a manufacturer exceeds its target recycling weight, it receives credits, which it may use to meet its target recycling weight in any of the next three years or which it may sell to other manufacturers for that purpose.

Penalties A manufacturer may be required to pay a forfeiture (a civil monetary penalty) of not more than $10,000 for each violation of the requirements in the bill. The maximum forfeiture for a violation by any person other than a manufacturer is $1,000.

Collectors A collector is an entity that receives eligible electronic devices from individuals and delivers them to recyclers. The bill requires a collector to register annually with DNR if the collector delivers to a recycler eligible electronic devices that will be recycled on behalf of a manufacturer. The bill requires a collector to certify annually that it complies with the requirements in the bill and with applicable health, environmental, safety, and financial responsibility requirements. The bill also requires a collector to report to DNR annually the total weight of covered electronic devices collected and the names of recyclers to whom the collector delivered covered electronic devices.

Recyclers A recycler is an entity that accepts eligible electronic devices from individuals and collectors and prepares the devices for use in manufacturing or recovers useable materials from the devices. The bill requires a recycler to register annually with DNR if it recycles eligible electronic devices on behalf of a manufacturer.

The bill requires a registered recycler to comply with a number of requirements, including maintaining liability insurance, ensuring that it has funds available to wind up its business and repair any environmental contamination caused by the business, and maintaining records that show the weight of materials that it recovers from eligible electronic devices that are actually recycled and the weight of materials that are disposed of in a landfill or incinerated. The bill requires a registered recycler to certify annually that it complies with the requirements in the bill and with applicable requirements under other laws concerning health and safety training for employees and the storage, transportation, processing, and exporting of eligible electronic devices and materials recovered from those devices.

The bill prohibits a recycler from using prison labor to recycle eligible electronic devices on behalf of a manufacturer.

The bill requires a recycler to report to DNR twice annually the total weight of eligible electronic devices collected in this state that it receives for recycling on behalf of manufacturers.

Retailers The bill requires a retailer to provide information to purchasers describing how eligible electronic devices can be collected and recycled and describing the prohibitions on disposing of electronic devices in landfills, as described below.

Other provisions Landfill and incineration ban Current law prohibits various items, including lead acid batteries and major appliances, from being disposed of in landfills and from being incinerated. This bill prohibits the disposal in landfills and the incineration of televisions, computer monitors, computers, computer peripherals, facsimile machines, digital video players, video recorders, and telephones with video displays. The prohibition takes effect on September 1, 2010. The bill authorizes DNR to expand the prohibition to other kinds of electronic devices if disposing of the electronic devices in landfills may be harmful to human health or the environment and also authorizes DNR to exempt a kind of electronic device from the prohibition.

Audits This bill authorizes DNR to perform or contract for the performance of an audit of the activities of a registered collector or a registered recycler. The bill requires the collector or recycler to pay a portion of the cost of the audit.