Mercury-Containing Lights Stewardship Program.
In 2010 the Legislature passed a law requiring producers of mercury-containing lights to create a stewardship program responsible for the collection, recycling, and disposal of mercury-containing lights used for illumination purposes, including compact fluorescent lights.
Mercury-containing light producers who do not participate in a stewardship plan approved by the Department of Ecology (Ecology) are prohibited from selling mercury-containing lights in the State of Washington. Ecology is responsible for reviewing and approving plans for the stewardship program submitted by a stewardship organization on behalf of producers and for ensuring the program's compliance with the submitted plan. The LightRecycle Washington program has been operating since January 1, 2015.
To finance the operations of the stewardship program, an environmental handling charge is applied to each mercury-containing light sold in the state. The handling charge:
The handling charge applied to sales of mercury-containing lights participating in the LightRecycle Washington program is currently 95 cents per bulb. The stewardship organization must pay Ecology an administrative fee of $3,000 per producer to cover Ecology's administrative and enforcement costs associated with the stewardship program.
Stewardship programs must, at minimum, provide no cost services in all cities with a population of 10,000 or more and in all counties of the state.
Persons, facilities, and office buildings are required to recycle their end-of-life mercury-containing lights. Mercury-containing lights may not be knowingly placed in waste containers for disposal or mixed recycling containers. These requirements are not subject to penalties.
After July 1, 2025, the stewardship law and program will undergo a sunset review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. Without legislative action to extend the program, the law will be repealed effective July 1, 2026. In the event that the stewardship program is repealed, state law would retain the requirement to recycle mercury-containing lights. State law would also retain the prohibition on mercury-containing light disposal via incineration, waste-to-energy, or via landfills.
Other Restrictions on Mercury.
Certain types of mercury-containing lights must be labeled with an internationally recognized mercury symbol and information to purchasers that mercury is present in the item. Federally regulated medical equipment and reagents used in medical or research tests are not subject to these restrictions. Violations of these requirements are subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000, or $5,000 for repeat violations.
Pollution Control Hearings Board.
The Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) is an appeals board with jurisdiction to hear appeals of certain decisions, orders, and penalties issued by Ecology and several other state agencies. Parties aggrieved by a PCHB decision may obtain subsequent judicial review.
Restrictions on Mercury-Containing Lights.
Beginning January 1, 2026, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers may not knowingly sell at retail compact fluorescent lamps and linear fluorescent lamps that contain mercury. Exempt from these restrictions on mercury-containing lights are:
Violations of these requirements are punishable by a civil penalty of up to $1,000, or $5,000 for repeat violations. The Department of Ecology (Ecology) may adopt rules to implement and enforce these restrictions. Penalties are appealable to the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB).
Changes to the Scope of the Light Stewardship Program.
The 2025 sunset of the mercury-containing lights stewardship program is repealed. The stewardship program for mercury-containing lights is expanded to include:
Producers of lights not currently covered by the existing mercury-containing lights stewardship program must participate in a light stewardship program under a plan approved by Ecology beginning January 1, 2026. The stewardship organization implementing an approved mercury-containing light plan must continue implementing that plan until December 31, 2025. The stewardship program must continue to collect and manage mercury-containing lights after the January 1, 2026, effective date of restrictions on retail sales of mercury-containing lights. The stewardship program must begin collecting and managing lights other than mercury-containing lights by January 1, 2026.
Stewardship organizations that plan to implement a stewardship plan for 2026 must submit a new or updated plan to Ecology by June 1, 2025, addressing the inclusion of lights other than mercury-containing lights and other required changes to the program.
Light Stewardship Program Financing.
The environmental handling fee used to fund the operations of the mercury-containing lights stewardship program is eliminated and replaced with a requirement that producers of mercury-containing lights fund the implementation of the stewardship program. The funding system must involve the collection of charges from participating producers in an environmentally sound and socially just manner that encourages the use of design attributes that reduce the environmental impacts of lights. The new method of financing the activities of the stewardship organization must be implemented by January 1, 2026. Stewardship organizations are responsible for all costs of participating in covered light collection, transportation, processing, education, agency reimbursement, recycling, and end-of-life management.
Stewardship organizations must reimburse Ecology for demonstrable costs incurred from serving as a collection location. Stewardship organizations must include template service agreements developed with local government input in program plans.
Collection Sites and Other Implementation Requirements.
The minimum number of collection sites operated by the stewardship program is amended to eliminate the requirement that no cost services be provided in all cities with population greater than 10,000 and all counties, and replaced with a requirement that the stewardship program:
Light stewardship organizations must undertake additional responsibilities with respect to providing public information about the stewardship program, including:
As part of stewardship plans submitted to Ecology, light stewardship organizations must newly:
Beginning January 1, 2026, lights must be recycled but may not be disposed of in a solid waste container or mixed recycling container, in the same manner that applies to mercury-containing lights.
Administration and Enforcement of Program Requirements.
The $3,000 per-producer limit on administrative costs paid to Ecology to oversee their implementation costs is eliminated beginning March 1, 2024.
Ecology must review new, updated, and revised plans following a specified process and within 120 days of receipt. After an initial plan submission and rejection by Ecology, if a stewardship organization's second submitted plan does not meet Ecology approval, Ecology may issue penalties or orders or amend the contents of the insufficient plan and require the stewardship organization to implement the plan as amended by Ecology.
Ecology may impose a civil penalty on persons that violate stewardship program requirements, including the failure to achieve performance goals, with penalties increased from up to $1,000 per violation per day to up to $10,000 per person per day for repeated violations. Prior to imposing penalties, Ecology must provide a written warning informing a person of a violation. Ecology may issue corrective action orders requiring compliance, revoke the stewardship organization's authority to implement the program, require a stewardship organization to report additional information, or require the stewardship organization to revise and resubmit its plan. Penalties and orders are appealable to the PCHB.
In 2028 and 2034 Ecology must provide the Legislature with an update on the implementation of the light stewardship program. Ecology must annually estimate the overall statewide recycling rate for lights covered by the stewardship program beginning in 2026. Ecology may require a stewardship organization to submit data as needed for these estimations.
Existing requirements for Ecology to solicit input from specified stakeholders on the impacts of the light stewardship program are eliminated. Ecology is no longer required to solicit information on the availability of alternatives to mercury-containing lights from specified stakeholders.
A severability clause is included.
As compared to the original bill, the substitute bill:
(In support) This bill phases out the sale of lightbulbs that contain mercury by 2026 because the industry is moving towards more efficient light emitting diode (LED) light products that do not require mercury and which are drop-in replacements for mercury-containing lights. Other states have banned sales of mercury-containing lights. Lightbulbs have costs of recycling that should be borne by manufacturers, not consumers. Lightbulbs should not go into the recycling bin because they can break and contaminate other items. Mercury is a powerful toxin whose improper disposal negatively impacts human health and the environment. If the existing mercury light stewardship program is allowed to sunset, it will result in increased costs to local governments to managed unwanted lightbulbs.
(Opposed) Producer responsibility programs should have the costs embedded in the price, rather than as environmental handling fees. A light recycling program should be subject to a single national standard, since state-by-state compliance is challenging for retailers. The mercury lights program is currently scheduled for a sunset review and accompanying report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, which should be allowed to be carried out. No other states have established extended producer responsibility requirements for LED lamps.
(Other) The Department of Ecology supports the policy goals, but the fiscal impacts are not in the Governor's budget. The new program would expand the light stewardship program to include all types of lights, and would be the first of its kind in the nation. Producer responsibility programs can reduce taxpayer burdens and this bill would eliminate the consumer fee charged at the time of sales of mercury-containing lights.