ESSB 5543 -
By Committee on Environmental Health
ADOPTED 03/02/2010
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that:
(1) Mercury is an essential component of many energy efficient
lights. Improper disposal methods will lead to mercury releases that
threaten the environment and harm human health. Spent mercury lighting
is a hard to collect waste product that is appropriate for product
stewardship;
(2) Convenient and environmentally sound product stewardship
programs for mercury-containing lights that include collecting,
transporting, and recycling mercury-containing lights will help protect
Washington's environment and the health of state residents;
(3) The purpose of this act is to achieve a statewide goal of
recycling all end-of-life mercury-containing lights by 2020 through
expanded public education, a uniform statewide requirement to recycle
all mercury-containing lights, and the development of a comprehensive,
safe, and convenient collection system that includes use of residential
curbside collection programs, mail-back containers, increased support
for household hazardous waste facilities, and a network of additional
collection locations;
(4) Product producers must play a significant role in financing no-cost collection and processing programs for mercury-containing lights;
and
(5) Providers of premium collection services such as residential
curbside and mail-back programs may charge a fee to cover the
collection costs for these more convenient forms of collection.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, or mark that identifies a
product, rather than its components, and attributes the product to the
owner of the brand as the producer.
(2) "Covered entities" means:
(a) A single-family or a multifamily household generator and
persons that deliver no more than fifteen mercury-containing lights to
registered collectors for a product stewardship program during a
ninety-day period; and
(b) A single-family or a multifamily household generator and
persons that utilize a registered residential curbside collection
program or a mail-back program for collection of mercury-containing
lights and that discards no more than fifteen mercury-containing lights
into those programs during a ninety-day period.
(3) "Collection" or "collect" means, except for persons involved in
mail-back programs:
(a) The activity of accumulating any amount of mercury-containing
lights at a location other than the location where the lights are used
by covered entities, and includes curbside collection activities,
household hazardous waste facilities, and other registered drop-off
locations; and
(b) The activity of transporting mercury-containing lights in the
state, where the transporter is not a generator of unwanted mercury-containing lights, to a location for purposes of accumulation.
(4) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(5) "Final disposition" means the point beyond which no further
processing takes place and materials from mercury-containing lights
have been transformed for direct use as a feedstock in producing new
products, or disposed of or managed in permitted facilities.
(6) "Hazardous substances" or "hazardous materials" means those
substances or materials identified by rules adopted under chapter
70.105 RCW.
(7) "Mail-back program" means the use of a prepaid postage
container with mercury vapor barrier packaging that is used for the
collection and recycling of mercury-containing lights from covered
entities as part of a product stewardship program and is transported by
the United States postal service or a common carrier.
(8) "Mercury vapor barrier packaging" means sealable containers
that are specifically designed for the storage, handling, and transport
of mercury-containing lights in order to prevent the escape of mercury
into the environment by volatilization or any other means, and that
meet the requirements for transporting by the United States postal
service or a common carrier.
(9) "Mercury-containing lights" means lamps, bulbs, tubes, or other
devices that contain mercury and provide functional illumination in
homes, businesses, and outdoor stationary fixtures.
(10) "Orphan product" means a mercury-containing light that lacks
a producer's brand, or for which the producer is no longer in business
and has no successor in interest, or that bears a brand for which the
department cannot identify an owner.
(11) "Person" means a sole proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, nonprofit corporation or organization, limited liability
company, firm, association, cooperative, or other legal entity located
within or outside Washington state.
(12) "Processing" means recovering materials from unwanted products
for use as feedstock in new products. Processing must occur at
permitted facilities.
(13) "Producer" means a person that:
(a) Has or had legal ownership of the brand, brand name, or cobrand
of a mercury-containing light sold in or into Washington state, except
for persons whose primary business is retail sales;
(b) Imports or has imported mercury-containing lights branded by a
producer that meets the requirements of (a) of this subsection and
where that producer has no physical presence in the United States;
(c) If (a) and (b) of this subsection do not apply, makes or made
an unbranded mercury-containing light that is sold or has been sold in
or into Washington state; or
(d)(i) Sells or sold at wholesale or retail a mercury-containing
light; (ii) does not have legal ownership of the brand; and (iii)
elects to fulfill the responsibilities of the producer for that
product.
(14) "Product stewardship" means a requirement for a producer of
mercury-containing lights to manage and reduce adverse safety, health,
and environmental impacts of the product throughout its life cycle,
including financing and providing for the collection, transporting,
reusing, recycling, processing, and final disposition of their
products.
(15) "Product stewardship plan" or "plan" means a detailed plan
describing the manner in which a product stewardship program will be
implemented.
(16) "Product stewardship program" or "program" means the methods,
systems, and services financed and provided by producers of mercury-containing lights generated by covered entities that addresses product
stewardship and includes collecting, transporting, reusing, recycling,
processing, and final disposition of unwanted mercury-containing
lights, including a fair share of orphan products.
(17) "Recovery" means the collection and transportation of unwanted
mercury-containing lights under this chapter.
(18)(a) "Recycling" means transforming or remanufacturing unwanted
products into usable or marketable materials for use other than
landfill disposal or incineration.
(b) "Recycling" does not include energy recovery or energy
generation by means of combusting unwanted products with or without
other waste.
(19) "Reporting period" means the period commencing January 1st and
ending December 31st in the same calendar year.
(20) "Residuals" means nonrecyclable materials left over from
processing an unwanted product.
(21) "Retailer" means a person who offers mercury-containing lights
for sale at retail through any means including, but not limited to,
remote offerings such as sales outlets, catalogs, or the internet, but
does not include a sale that is a wholesale transaction with a
distributor or a retailer.
(22)(a) "Reuse" means a change in ownership of a mercury-containing
light or its components, parts, packaging, or shipping materials for
use in the same manner and purpose for which it was originally
purchased, or for use again, as in shipping materials, by the generator
of the shipping materials.
(b) "Reuse" does not include dismantling of products for the
purpose of recycling.
(23) "Stakeholder" means a person who may have an interest in or be
affected by a product stewardship program.
(24) "Stewardship organization" means an organization designated by
a producer or group of producers to act as an agent on behalf of each
producer to operate a product stewardship program.
(25) "Unwanted product" means a mercury-containing light no longer
wanted by its owner or that has been abandoned, discarded, or is
intended to be discarded by its owner.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) Every producer of mercury-containing
lights sold in or into Washington state for residential use must fully
finance and participate in a product stewardship program for that
product, including the department's costs for administering and
enforcing this chapter.
(2) Every producer must:
(a) Participate in a product stewardship program approved by the
department and operated by a product stewardship organization
contracted by the department. All producers must finance and
participate in the plan operated by the product stewardship
organization, unless the producer obtains department approval for an
independent plan as described in (b) of this subsection; or
(b) Finance and operate, either individually or jointly with other
producers, a product stewardship program approved by the department.
(3) A producer, group of producers, or product stewardship
organization funded by producers must pay all administrative and
operational costs associated with their program or programs, except for
the collection costs associated with curbside and mail-back collection
programs. For curbside and mail-back programs, a producer, group of
producers, or product stewardship organization shall finance the costs
of transporting mercury-containing lights from accumulation points and
for processing mercury-containing lights collected by curbside and
mail-back programs. For collection locations, including household
hazardous waste facilities, charities, retailers, government recycling
sites, or other suitable locations, a producer, group of producers, or
product stewardship organization shall finance the costs of collection,
transportation, and processing of mercury-containing lights collected
at the collection locations.
(4) Product stewardship programs shall collect unwanted mercury-containing lights delivered from covered entities for reuse, recycling,
processing, or final disposition, and not charge a fee when lights are
dropped off or delivered into the program.
(5) Product stewardship programs shall provide, at a minimum, no
cost services in all cities in the state with populations greater than
ten thousand and all counties of the state on an ongoing, year-round
basis.
(6) All product stewardship programs operated under approved plans
must recover their fair share of unwanted covered products as
determined by the department.
(7) The department or its designee may inspect, audit, or review
audits of processing and disposal facilities used to fulfill the
requirements of a product stewardship program.
(8) No product stewardship program required under this chapter may
use federal or state prison labor for processing unwanted products.
(9) Product stewardship programs for mercury-containing lights must
be fully implemented by January 1, 2013.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 (1) A producer, group of producers, or
product stewardship program submitting a proposed product stewardship
plan under section 3(2)(b) of this act must submit that plan by January
1st of the year prior to the planned implementation.
(2) The department shall establish rules for plan content. Plans
must include but are not limited to:
(a) All necessary information to inform the department about the
plan operator and participating producers and their brands;
(b) The management and organization of the product stewardship
program that will oversee the collection, transportation, and
processing services;
(c) The identity of collection, transportation, and processing
service providers, including a description of the consideration given
to existing residential curbside collection infrastructure and mail-back systems as an appropriate collection mechanism;
(d) How the product stewardship program will seek to use businesses
within the state, including transportation services, retailers,
collection sites and services, existing curbside collection services,
existing mail-back services, and processing facilities;
(e) A description of how the public will be informed about the
recycling program;
(f) A description of the financing system required under section 5
of this act;
(g) How mercury and other hazardous substances will be handled for
collection through final disposition;
(h) A public review and comment process; and
(i) Any other information deemed necessary by the department to
ensure an effective mercury light product stewardship program that is
in compliance with all applicable laws and rules.
(3) All plans submitted to the department must be made available
for public review on the department's web site and at the department's
headquarters.
(4) At least two years from the start of the product stewardship
program and once every four years thereafter, a producer, group of
producers, or product stewardship organization operating a product
stewardship program must update its product stewardship plan and submit
the updated plan to the department for review and approval according to
rules adopted by the department.
(5) Each product stewardship program shall submit an annual report
to the department describing the results of implementing their plan for
the prior year. The department may adopt rules for reporting
requirements. All reports submitted to the department must be made
available for public review on the department's web site and at the
department's headquarters.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 (1) All producers that sell mercury-containing lights in or into the state of Washington are responsible
for financing the mercury-containing light recycling program required
by section 3 of this act.
(2) Each producer shall pay fifteen thousand dollars to the
department to contract for a product stewardship program to be operated
by a product stewardship organization. The department shall retain
five thousand dollars of the fifteen thousand dollars for
administration and enforcement costs.
(3) A producer or producers participating in an independent plan,
as permitted under section 3(2)(b) of this act, must pay the full cost
of operation. Each producer participating in an approved independent
plan shall pay an annual fee of five thousand dollars to the department
for administration and enforcement costs.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 (1) All mercury-containing lights collected
in the state by product stewardship programs or other collection
programs must be recycled and any process residuals must be managed in
compliance with applicable laws.
(2) Mercury recovered from retorting must be recycled or placed in
a properly permitted hazardous waste landfill, or placed in a properly
permitted mercury repository.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 (1) Except for persons involved in
registered mail-back programs, a person who collects unwanted mercury-containing lights in the state, receives funding through a product
stewardship program for mercury-containing lights, and who is not a
generator of unwanted mercury-containing lights must:
(a) Register with the department as a collector of unwanted
mercury-containing lights. Until the department adopts rules for
collectors, the collector must provide to the department the legal name
of the person or entity owning and operating the collection location,
the address and phone number of the collection location, and the name,
address, and phone number of the individual responsible for operating
the collection location and update any changes in this information
within thirty days of the change;
(b) Maintain a spill and release response plan at the collection
location that describes the materials, equipment, and procedures that
will be used to respond to any mercury release from an unwanted
mercury-containing light;
(c) Maintain a worker safety plan at the collection location that
describes the handling of the unwanted mercury-containing lights at the
collection location and measures that will be taken to protect worker
health and safety; and
(d) Use packaging and shipping material that will minimize the
release of mercury into the environment and minimize breakage and use
mercury vapor barrier packaging if mercury-containing lights are
transported by the United States postal service or a common carrier.
(2) A person who operates a curbside collection program or owns or
operates a mail-back business participating in a product stewardship
program for mercury-containing lights and uses the United States postal
service or a common carrier for transport must register with the
department and use mercury vapor barrier packaging for curbside
collection and mail-back containers.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 Effective January 1, 2013:
(1) All persons, residents, government, commercial, industrial, and
retail facilities and office buildings must recycle their end-of-life
mercury-containing lights.
(2) No mercury-containing lights may knowingly be placed in waste
containers for disposal at incinerators, waste to energy facilities, or
landfills.
(3) No mercury-containing lights may knowingly be placed in a
container for mixed recyclables unless there is a separate location or
compartment for the mercury-containing lights that complies with local
government collection standards or guidelines.
(4) No owner or operator of a solid waste facility may be found in
violation of this section if the facility has posted in a conspicuous
location a sign stating that mercury-containing lights must be recycled
and are not accepted for disposal.
(5) No solid waste collector may be found in violation of this
section for mercury-containing lights placed in a disposal container by
the generator of the mercury-containing light.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 As of January 1, 2013, no producer,
wholesaler, retailer, electric utility, or other person may distribute,
sell, or offer for sale mercury-containing lights for residential use
to any person in this state unless the producer is participating in a
product stewardship program under a plan approved by the department.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 (1) The department shall send a written
warning and a copy of this chapter and any rules adopted to implement
this chapter to a producer who is not participating in a product
stewardship program approved by the department and whose mercury-containing lights are being sold in or into the state.
(2) A producer not participating in a product stewardship program
approved by the department whose mercury-containing lights continue to
be sold in or into the state sixty days after receiving a written
warning from the department shall be assessed a penalty of up to one
thousand dollars for each violation. A violation is one day of sales.
(3) If any producer fails to implement its approved plan, the
department shall assess a penalty of up to five thousand dollars for
the first violation along with notification that the producer must
implement its plan within thirty days of the violation. After thirty
days, any producer failing to implement their approved plan must be
assessed a penalty of up to ten thousand dollars for the second and
each subsequent violation. A subsequent violation occurs each thirty-day period that the producer fails to implement the approved plan.
(4) The department shall send a written warning to a producer that
fails to submit a product stewardship plan, update or change the plan
when required, or submit an annual report as required under this
chapter. The written warning must include compliance requirements and
notification that the requirements must be met within sixty days. If
requirements are not met within sixty days, the producer will be
assessed a ten thousand dollar penalty per day of noncompliance
starting with the first day of notice of noncompliance.
(5) Penalties prescribed under this section must be reduced by
fifty percent if the producer complies within thirty days of the second
violation notice.
(6) A producer may appeal penalties prescribed under this section
to the pollution control hearings board created under chapter 43.21B
RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 (1) The department shall provide on its web
site a list of all producers participating in a product stewardship
plan that the department has approved and a list of all producers the
department has identified as noncompliant with this chapter and any
rules adopted to implement this chapter.
(2) Product wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and electric
utilities must check the department's web site or producer-provided
written verification to determine if producers of products they are
selling in or into the state are in compliance with this chapter.
(3) No one may distribute or sell mercury-containing lights in or
into the state from producers who are not participating in a product
stewardship program or who are not in compliance with this chapter and
rules adopted under this chapter.
(4) The department shall serve, or send with delivery confirmation,
a written warning explaining the violation to any person known to be
distributing or selling mercury-containing lights in or into the state
from producers who are not participating in a product stewardship
program or who are not in compliance with this chapter and rules
adopted under this chapter.
(5) Any person who continues to distribute or sell mercury-containing lights from a producer that is not participating in an
approved product stewardship program sixty days after receiving a
written warning from the department may be assessed a penalty two times
the value of the products sold in violation of this chapter or five
hundred dollars, whichever is greater. The penalty must be waived if
the person verifies that the person has discontinued distribution or
sales of mercury-containing lights within thirty days of the date the
penalty is assessed. A retailer may appeal penalties to the pollution
control hearings board.
(6) The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.
(7) A sale or purchase of mercury-containing lights as a casual or
isolated sale as defined in RCW 82.04.040 is not subject to the
provisions of this section.
(8) A person primarily engaged in the business of reuse and resale
of a used mercury-containing light is not subject to the provisions of
this section when selling used working mercury-containing lights, for
use in the same manner and purpose for which it was originally
purchased.
(9) In-state distributors, wholesalers, and retailers in possession
of mercury-containing lights on the date that restrictions on the sale
of the product become effective may exhaust their existing stock
through sales to the public.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 All producers shall pay the department
annual fees to cover the cost of administering and enforcing this
chapter. The department may prioritize the work to implement this
chapter if fees are not adequate to fund all costs of the program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 The product stewardship programs account is
created in the custody of the state treasurer. All funds received from
producers under this chapter and penalties collected under this chapter
must be deposited in the account. Expenditures from the account may be
used only for administering this chapter. Only the director of the
department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from
the account. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under
chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for
expenditures.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14 (1) The department may adopt rules
necessary to implement, administer, and enforce this chapter.
(2) The department may adopt rules to establish performance
standards for product stewardship programs and may establish
administrative penalties for failure to meet the standards.
(3) By December 31, 2010, and annually thereafter until December
31, 2014, the department shall report to the appropriate committees of
the legislature concerning the status of the product stewardship
program and recommendations for changes to the provisions of this
chapter.
(4) Beginning October 1, 2014, the department shall annually invite
comments from local governments, communities, and citizens to report
their satisfaction with services provided by product stewardship
programs. This information must be used by the department to determine
if the plan operator is meeting convenience requirements and in
reviewing proposed updates or changes to product stewardship plans.
(5) Beginning October 1, 2014, the department shall annually invite
comments from retailers, consumer groups, electric utilities, the
Northwest power and conservation council, and other interested parties
regarding the impacts of the requirements of this chapter on the
availability or purchase of energy efficient lighting within the state.
If the department determines that evidence shows the requirements of
this chapter have resulted in negative impacts on the availability or
purchase of energy efficient lighting in the state, the department
shall report this information by December 31st of each year to the
appropriate committees of the legislature with recommendations for
changes to the provisions of this chapter.
(6) Beginning October 1, 2014, the department shall annually invite
comments from retailers, consumer groups, electric utilities, the
Northwest power and conservation council, and other interested parties
regarding the availability of energy efficient nonmercury lighting to
replace mercury-containing lighting within the state. If the
department determines that evidence shows that energy efficient
nonmercury-containing lighting is available and achieves similar energy
savings as mercury lighting at similar cost, the department shall
report this information by December 31st of each year to the
appropriate committees of the legislature with recommendations for
legislative changes to reduce mercury use in lighting.
(7) Beginning October 1, 2014, the department shall annually
estimate the overall statewide recycling rate for mercury-containing
lights and calculate that portion of the recycling rate attributable to
the product stewardship program.
(8) The department may require submission of independent
performance evaluations and report evaluations documenting the
effectiveness of mercury vapor barrier packaging in preventing the
escape of mercury into the environment. The department may restrict
the use of packaging for which adequate documentation has not been
provided. Restricted packaging may not be used in any product
stewardship program required under this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 Nothing in this chapter changes or limits
the authority of the Washington utilities and transportation commission
to regulate collection of solid waste, including curbside collection of
residential recyclable materials, nor does this chapter change or limit
the authority of a city or town to provide such service itself or by
contract under RCW 81.77.020.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 Nothing in this chapter changes the
requirements of any entity regulated under chapter 70.105 RCW to comply
with the requirements under that chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17 This chapter must be liberally construed to
carry out its purposes and objectives.
Sec. 18 RCW 70.95M.010 and 2003 c 260 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) (("Automotive mercury switch" includes a convenience switch,
such as a switch for a trunk or hood light, and a mercury switch in
antilock brake systems.)) "Bulk mercury" includes any elemental,
nonamalgamated mercury, regardless of volume quantity or weight and
does not include products containing mercury collected for recycling or
disposal at a permitted disposal facility.
(2) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(3) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology.
(4) "Health care facility" includes a hospital, nursing home,
extended care facility, long-term care facility, clinical or medical
laboratory, state or private health or mental institution, clinic,
physician's office, or health maintenance organization.
(5) "Manufacturer" includes any person, firm, association,
partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, or joint
venture that produces a mercury-added product or an importer or
domestic distributor of a mercury-added product produced in a foreign
country. In the case of a multicomponent product containing mercury,
the manufacturer is the last manufacturer to produce or assemble the
product. If the multicomponent product or mercury-added product is
produced in a foreign country, the manufacturer is the first importer
or domestic distributor.
(6) "Mercury-added button-cell battery" means a button-cell battery
to which the manufacturer intentionally introduces mercury for the
operation of the battery.
(7) "Mercury-added novelty" means a mercury-added product intended
mainly for personal or household enjoyment or adornment. Mercury-added
novelties include, but are not limited to, items intended for use as
practical jokes, figurines, adornments, toys, games, cards, ornaments,
yard statues and figures, candles, jewelry, holiday decorations, items
of apparel, and other similar products. Mercury-added novelty does not
include games, toys, or products that require a button-cell or lithium
battery, liquid crystal display screens, or a lamp that contains
mercury.
(8) "Mercury-added product" means a product, commodity, or
chemical, or a product with a component that contains mercury or a
mercury compound intentionally added to the product, commodity, or
chemical in order to provide a specific characteristic, appearance, or
quality, or to perform a specific function, or for any other reason.
Mercury-added products include those products listed in the interstate
mercury education and reduction clearinghouse mercury-added products
database, but are not limited to, mercury thermometers, mercury
thermostats, mercury barometers, lamps, and mercury switches ((in motor
vehicles)) or relays.
(9) "Mercury manometer" means a mercury-added product that is used
for measuring blood pressure.
(10) "Mercury thermometer" means a mercury-added product that is
used for measuring temperature.
(11) "Retailer" means a retailer of a mercury-added product.
(12) "Switch" means any device, which may be referred to as a
switch, sensor, valve, probe, control, transponder, or any other
apparatus, that directly regulates or controls the flow of electricity,
gas, or other compounds, such as relays or transponders. "Switch"
includes all components of the unit necessary to perform its flow
control function. "Automotive mercury switch" includes a convenience
switch, such as a switch for a trunk or hood light, and a mercury
switch in antilock brake systems. "Utility switch" includes, but is
not limited to, all devices that open or close an electrical circuit,
or a liquid or gas valve. "Utility relay" includes, but is not limited
to, all products or devices that open or close electrical contacts to
control the operation of other devices in the same or other electrical
circuit.
(13) "Wholesaler" means a wholesaler of a mercury-added product.
Sec. 19 RCW 70.95M.050 and 2003 c 260 s 6 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Effective January 1, 2006, no person may sell, offer for sale,
or distribute for sale or use in this state a mercury-added novelty.
A manufacturer of mercury-added novelties must notify all retailers
that sell the product about the provisions of this section and how to
properly dispose of any remaining mercury-added novelty inventory.
(2)(a) Effective January 1, 2006, no person may sell, offer for
sale, or distribute for sale or use in this state a manometer used to
measure blood pressure or a thermometer that contains mercury. This
subsection (2)(a) does not apply to:
(i) An electronic thermometer with a button-cell battery containing
mercury;
(ii) A thermometer that contains mercury and that is used for food
research and development or food processing, including meat, dairy
products, and pet food processing;
(iii) A thermometer that contains mercury and that is a component
of an animal agriculture climate control system or industrial
measurement system or for veterinary medicine until such a time as the
system is replaced or a nonmercury component for the system or
application is available;
(iv) A thermometer or manometer that contains mercury that is used
for calibration of other thermometers, manometers, apparatus, or
equipment, unless a nonmercury calibration standard is approved for the
application by the national institute of standards and technology;
(v) A thermometer that is provided by prescription. A manufacturer
of a mercury thermometer shall supply clear instructions on the careful
handling of the thermometer to avoid breakage and proper cleanup should
a breakage occur; or
(vi) A manometer or thermometer sold or distributed to a hospital,
or a health care facility controlled by a hospital, if the hospital has
adopted a plan for mercury reduction consistent with the goals of the
mercury chemical action plan developed by the department under section
302, chapter 371, Laws of 2002.
(b) A manufacturer of thermometers that contain mercury must notify
all retailers that sell the product about the provisions of this
section and how to properly dispose of any remaining thermometer
inventory.
(3) Effective January 1, 2006, no person may sell, install, or
reinstall a commercial or residential thermostat that contains mercury
unless the manufacturer of the thermostat conducts or participates in
a thermostat recovery or recycling program designed to assist
contractors in the proper disposal of thermostats that contain mercury
in accordance with 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901, et seq., the federal resource
conservation and recovery act.
(4) No person may sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale or
use in this state a motor vehicle manufactured after January 1, 2006,
if the motor vehicle contains an automotive mercury switch.
(5) Nothing in this section restricts the ability of a
manufacturer, importer, or domestic distributor from transporting
products through the state, or storing products in the state for later
distribution outside the state.
(6) Effective June 30, 2012, the sale or purchase and delivery of
bulk mercury is prohibited, including sales through the internet or
sales by private parties. However, the prohibition in this subsection
does not apply to immediate dangerous waste recycling facilities or
treatment, storage, and disposal facilities as approved by the
department and sales to research facilities, or industrial facilities
that provide products or services to entities exempted from this
chapter. The facilities described in this subsection must submit an
inventory of their purchase and use of bulk mercury to the department
on an annual basis, as well as any mercury waste generated from such
actions.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20 Sections 1 through 17 and 21 of this act
constitute a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 21 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected."
Correct the title.
EFFECT: Adds that by January 1, 2013, all users of mercury- containing lights must recycle these lights and prohibits the disposal of mercury-containing lights in waste incinerators, landfills, or mixed recyclable containers; removes authority of the department of ecology to adopt rules allowing a product stewardship organization to adjust fees paid by producers to implement a product stewardship program and administer and enforce the law on recycling mercury-containing lights; and corrects references and removes unnecessary language.