AB 744

Light bulbs containing mercury

This bill imposes requirements on manufacturers that sell, or that have

previously sold, mercury-added lamps to households in this state. Lamps are

commonly called light bulbs. The bill defines a mercury-added lamp as any electric

lamp to which mercury is intentionally added during the manufacturing process.

The bill requires manufacturers, beginning on January 1, 2014, to file an annual

registration with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and to pay an annual

fee. The registration must also include an annual report containing specific

information required by DNR. Under the bill, a manufacturer must implement a

recycling plan approved by DNR for recycling mercury-added lamps derived from

households (household lamps). If a manufacturer fails to annually register with

DNR, pay an annual registration fee, or fully implement an approved recycling plan,

the manufacturer may not conduct business of any kind in this state. All of these

requirements cease to apply to a manufacturer after the expiration of a ten-year

period during which the manufacturer does not sell any household lamps in this

state.

In order for a manufacturer to comply with registration requirements

established under the bill, the manufacturer must submit a recycling plan to DNR

for approval. The bill provides that DNR may not approve a recycling plan unless

the plan contains certain information. The plan must contain, among other things,

information about the collection sites established by the manufacturer at which

household lamps may be deposited for recycling, information about the procedure

established by the manufacturer for the delivery of household lamps from collection

sites to a recycler, and a public education component that provides information about

recycling and the safe storage and handling of used household lamps. The bill

authorizes manufacturers to establish joint recycling programs or to participate in

the creation of an entity to collect and recycle household lamps.

Under this bill, DNR must review a manufacturer's recycling plan within three

months of its submission. Within 30 days after completing its review, DNR must

notify the manufacturer of any deficiencies in the manufacturer's plan. If DNR

determines that an original or modified plan complies with the plan requirements

established in the bill, DNR must approve the plan. If the plan is deficient and the

manufacturer fails to remedy the plan, DNR must disapprove the plan. The bill

requires DNR, in approving recycling plans, to establish a goal of achieving by

January 1, 2016, an average yearly recycling rate of 70 percent of the total weight

of mercury-added lamps sold to households in this state.

The bill also requires each manufacturer to submit an annual report to DNR

that includes information about the total weight of household lamps recycled by the

manufacturer in the previous year and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the

manufacturer's plan. The bill requires a manufacturer upon submission of a plan,