RELATING TO RECYCLING.

HB332

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

332

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO recycling
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that the improper disposal of batteries and
battery-embedded products creates significant safety and environmental
dangers.
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For example, in 2016, a
four-alarm fire at a material recovery facility in San Mateo County,
California, caused millions of dollars in damage.
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The fire was likely caused by a rechargeable
battery.

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In particular, lithium-ion batteries pose
significant fire risks, with well-publicized incidents having occurred in homes
and airliners.
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Despite laws regulating
the disposal of lithium‑ion batteries, many are improperly discarded and
end up in landfills or other inappropriate parts of the solid waste
system.
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The improper disposal of
rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in the State's landfills creates unnecessary
safety hazards for workers and surrounding residents, while also posing
environmental threats to the State's land and water resources, including the aquifer.

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The legislature finds that the lack of
accessible recycling options causes many batteries to be improperly disposed of
in landfills.
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The legislature further
finds that requiring lithium-ion battery producers to play a more active role
in the recovery and recycling of their products will help to ensure that
lithium-ion batteries stay out of the State's landfills.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
expand the Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act to include the
collection and recycling of certain lithium-ion batteries.

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SECTION 2.
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Section 339D-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding four new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read
as follows:

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"
"Covered battery":

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(1)
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Means a
lithium-ion battery device consisting of one or more electrically connected
electrochemical cells designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy;

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(2)
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Includes a
lithium-ion battery that is:

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(A)
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A
loose battery that is either sold separately from a product or that is designed
to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more
than common household tools; and

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(B)
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A
battery that is packed with, but not installed in, the product that the battery
is intended to power, when the product is offered for sale by a manufacturer;
and

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(3)
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Does not
include:

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(A)
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A
non-rechargeable battery;

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(B)
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A
rechargeable battery weighing more than five kilograms and having a watt-hour
rating of more than three hundred watt-hours;

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(C)
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A
battery contained in a motor vehicle.

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(D)
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A
class I device as defined in title 21 United States Code section 360c that is
either:

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(i)
�
A
device described in title 42 Code of Federal Regulations section 414.202; or

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(ii)
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Predominantly
used in a health care setting by a health care provider or predominantly
prescribed by a health care provider;

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(E)
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A
class II or class III device as defined in title 21 United States Code section
360c; and

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(F)
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A
battery that has been recalled.

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"Electrochemical cell" means a
system consisting of an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte, plus electrical
or mechanical connections needed to allow the cell to deliver or receive
electric energy.

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"Lithium-ion battery"
means a rechargeable battery that uses lithium ions as the primary component of
its electrolyte.

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"Motor vehicle" has the
same meaning as in section 291C-1; provided that, for purposes of this chapter,
"motor vehicle" does not include a motorized scooter, motorized
skateboard, motorized hoverboard, or a vehicle intended to propel or move upon
a highway only one individual person or property.
"

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SECTION
3
.
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Section 339D-1,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of
"electronic device" to read as follows:

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""Electronic device":

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(1)
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Means:

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(A)
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A
computer, computer printer, computer monitor, or portable computer with a
screen size greater than four inches measured diagonally
; [
and
]

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(B)
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Any
device that is capable of receiving broadcast, cable, or satellite signals and
displaying television or video programing, including any direct view or
projection television with a viewable screen of nine inches or larger with
display technology based on cathode ray tube, plasma, liquid crystal, digital
light processing, liquid crystal on silicon, silicon crystal reflective
display, light emitting diode, or similar technology
; and

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(C)
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A
covered battery; and

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(2)
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Shall not include:

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(A)
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An electronic
device that is a part of a motor vehicle or any component part of a motor
vehicle assembled by or for a motor vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer,
including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle;

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(B)
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An electronic
device that is functionally or physically required as a part of a larger piece
of equipment designed and intended for use in an industrial, commercial, or
medical setting, including diagnostic, monitoring, or control equipment;

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(C)
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An electronic
device that is contained within a clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator,
refrigerator and freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range,
dishwasher, room air conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier;

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(D)
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A telephone of any
type including a mobile telephone; or

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(E)
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A global
positioning system."

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SECTION
4
.
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Section 339D-7.5,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
�339D-7.5
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Manufacturer and agent responsibilities;
regulatory compliance.
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Each manufacturer shall be responsible
for ensuring that the manufacturer and its agents follow all federal, state,
and local regulations when collecting, transporting, and recycling electronic
devices, and adopt environmentally sound recycling practices for the electronic
devices.
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The manufacturer shall
ensure that the manufacturer and its agents collect, store, transport, and
recycle covered batteries in a safe manner.
"

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SECTION
5
.
�
Section
339D-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read
as follows:

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"(b)
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By September 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, each manufacturer shall
submit a plan to the department to establish, conduct, and manage a program for
the recycling of electronic devices sold in the State, which shall be subject
to the following conditions:

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(1)
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The
plan shall not permit the charging of a fee at the point of collection if the
electronic device is brought by the electronic device owner to a central
location for recycling; provided that the plan may include a reasonable
transportation fee if the manufacturer or manufacturer's agent removes the
electronic device from the owner's premises at the owner's request and if the
removal is not in conjunction with delivery of a new electronic device to the
owner;

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(2)
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The
plan shall include a description of the methods for the convenient collection
of electronic devices at no cost to the owner, except as provided in paragraph
(1).
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The recycling plan shall provide
for collection services of electronic devices in each county and zip code
tabulation area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, with a
population greater than twenty‑five thousand.
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The recycling plan shall include at least one
of the following:

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(A)
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Staffed drop-off
sites;

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(B)
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Alternative
collection services, including on‑site pick-up services; or

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(C)
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Collection events
held at an easily accessible, central location;

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(3)
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The plan shall
provide collection services at a minimum of once per month;

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(4)
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The plan shall not
contain only a mail-back option;

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(5)
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For the
recycling of covered batteries, the plan shall specify the manner in which
collection sites, services, and events will be operated to ensure that covered
batteries are collected safely and handled in accordance with all applicable
federal, state, and county laws and ordinances;

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[
(5)
]

(6)
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The plan shall specify the use of only
collectors registered with the State pursuant to section 339D-28; and

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[
(6)
]

(7)
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The plan shall specify the use of
recyclers that have achieved and maintained third-party accredited certification
from the Responsible Recycling Standard for Electronics Recyclers (R2),
Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment
(e-Stewards), or an internationally accredited third-party environmental
management standard for the safe and responsible handling of electronic
devices."

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SECTION 6.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 7.
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This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Lithium-ion
Batteries; Recycling; Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act; DOH;
Extended Producer Responsibility; E-Waste

Description:

Expands
the Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act to include the collection and
recycling of certain lithium-ion batteries.
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Requires manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries to recycle or arrange
for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries sold in the State, and ensure the
safe collection, storage, transportation, and recycling of batteries.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.