AN ACT relating to battery stewardship.

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AN ACT relating to battery stewardship. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF SUBCHAPTER 50 OF KRS CHAPTER 3
224 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section and Section 2 of this Act: 5
(a) "Battery-containing product": 6
1. Means a product that contains or is packaged with a covered ba ttery; 7
and 8
2. Does not include computers, smal l-scale servers, computer monitors, 9
electronic keyboards and mice, printers, fax machines, scanners, 10
televisions, digital video disc players and recorders, video cassette 11
recorders, digital converter boxes, cable receivers, satellite receivers, 12
portable digital music players, or video game consoles; 13
(b) "Covered battery": 14
1. Means a portable battery or a medium format battery; and 15
2. Does not include a battery: 16
a. That is contained in a medical device regulated under the federal 17
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq., and is not 18
designed or marketed for sale or resale at retail locations for 19
personal use; 20
b. That contains an electrolyte as a free liquid or a product that 21
contains such a battery; 22
c. Designed to power a motor vehicle, part of a mo tor vehicle, or a 23
component part of a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle 24
manufacturer or franchised dealer, including replacement parts 25
for use in a motor vehicle; 26
d. In a product that is not intended or designed to be easily 27
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removable from the product; 1
e. Or battery -containing product that is being recalled for safety 2
reasons; or 3
f. Or battery -containing product offered for resale by a business 4
that, as part of its operations, offers products for resale to other 5
businesses or to consumers; 6
(c) "Medium format battery" means: 7
1. For batteries that are not capable of being recharged, a battery that 8
weighs more than four and four-tenths (4.4) pounds but not more than 9
twenty-five (25) pounds; or 10
2. For rechargeable batteries, a battery that weighs mor e than eleven 11
(11) pounds or has a rating of more than three hundred (300) watt -12
hours, or both, but that does not weigh more than twenty -five (25) 13
pounds or have a rating of more than two thousand (2,000) watt -14
hours; 15
(d) "Portable battery" means: 16
1. For ba tteries that are not capable of being recharged, a battery that 17
weighs no more than four and four-tenths (4.4) pounds; or 18
2. For rechargeable batteries, a battery that weighs no more than eleven 19
(11) pounds and has a rating of no more than three hundred (3 00) 20
watt-hours; 21
(e) "Rechargeable battery" means a battery that contains one (1) or more 22
voltaic or galvanic cells electrically connected to produce electric energy 23
and that is designed to be recharged; 24
(f) "Recovery" means the collection, accumulation, an d transportation of 25
covered batteries or battery -containing products for the purpose of 26
introducing them into a recycling process; and 27
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(g) "Voluntary battery stewardship organization" means a voluntary 1
organization designated by the cabinet to directly imp lement a covered 2
battery stewardship plan approved by the cabinet. 3
(2) Beginning on June 30, 2027, a person shall not place or cause to be placed a 4
covered battery in a curbside, commercial front load, or roll -off container that is 5
used for either solid waste disposal or recycling. 6
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF SUBCHAPTER 50 OF KRS CHAPTER 7
224 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: 8
(1) No later than March 31, 2027, the cabinet shall establish the Covered Battery 9
Stewardship Program in order to: 10
(a) Educate the public on the prohibition on covered battery disposal in Section 11
1 of this Act; 12
(b) Foster the creation of voluntary battery stewardship organizations in the 13
Commonwealth; 14
(c) Oversee the implementation of a voluntary take -back program for recovery 15
of rechargeable covered batteries in an efficient and safe manner; 16
(d) Investigate the feasibility of establishing a voluntary take -back program for 17
imbedded batteries; 18
(e) Promote a market for the recovery of covered batteries; and 19
(f) Prevent damage to solid waste collection equipment and disposal facilities 20
due to the improper disposal of covered batteries. 21
(2) To facilitate the establishment of the Covered Battery Steward ship Program, the 22
cabinet shall collaborate with, at a minimum, the following stakeholders or 23
representatives thereof: 24
(a) Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers of covered batteries 25
and covered battery-containing products; 26
(b) Material recyclers, as defined in KRS 177.905; 27
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(c) Solid waste collectors and solid waste disposal facilities; 1
(d) Municipalities; 2
(e) Counties; 3
(f) Voluntary battery stewardship organizations, if any; and, 4
(g) Waste management districts established under KRS Chapter 109. 5
(3) Once the program is established, the cabinet shall publish, update, and maintain 6
on its website: 7
(a) A listing of covered battery collection sites that will accept covered batteries 8
for recovery; and 9
(b) Contact information for transporters that will accept covered batteries for 10
transportation to a collection site or recovery facility. 11
(4) (a) To be designated as a voluntary battery stewardship organization by the 12
cabinet, the registrant shall submit its registration in the form and manner 13
as the cabinet may require. For approval, at a minimum, the registration 14
shall include the following: 15
1. The business structure of the voluntary battery stewardship 16
organization; 17
2. The names and contact information for all officers of, and 18
participants in, the voluntary battery stewardship organization; and 19
3. Evidence that the voluntary battery stewardship organization is 20
currently in good standing with the Secretary of State. 21
(b) Within ten (10) business days of receiving a complete registration, the 22
cabinet shall inform the registrant that the registration is approved. 23
(5) After the cabinet has approved its registration under subsection (4) of this 24
section, but before operation, a voluntary battery stewardship organization shall 25
submit to the cabinet a voluntar y battery stewardship organization plan for 26
approval or disapproval, which shall contain, at a minimum: 27
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(a) Requirements for participating retailers of covered batteries or battery -1
containing products to conspicuously display on their products notice of 2
the: 3
1. Prohibition on covered battery disposal in Section 1 of this Act; and 4
2. Website address maintained by the cabinet pursuant to subsection (3) 5
of this section; 6
(b) Requirements for participating covered battery manufacturers or producers 7
to ensure that the covered battery: 8
1. Including a battery in a battery -containing product, is marked with an 9
identification of the manufacturer or producer of the battery; and 10
2. Is marked to ensure proper collection and recovery by identifying the 11
chemistry of the ba ttery and including an indication that the battery 12
should not be disposed of as household waste; 13
(c) Consumer awareness goals and a description of the education and outreach 14
strategy that the voluntary battery stewardship organization will implement; 15
(d) Collection site safety training procedures related to covered battery 16
collection activities at collection sites, including a description of operating 17
protocols to reduce risks of spills or fires, response protocols in the event of 18
a spill or fire, and protocols for safe management of damaged batteries that 19
are returned to collection sites; 20
(e) Provisions for recordkeeping, tracking, and documenting the management 21
and disposition of collected covered batteries; and, 22
(f) A method for fully funding the vol untary battery stewardship organization's 23
plan in a manner that equitably distributes the plan's costs among the 24
members of the battery stewardship organization, without adding a point -of-25
sale cost or fee to the consumer. 26
(6) Each voluntary battery stewardship organization shall submit to the cabinet on or 27
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before June 30, 2027, and each June 30 thereafter, a report that includes: 1
(a) The weight, by chemistry, of covered batteries collected; 2
(b) The weight of materials recovered from covered batteries collec ted, in total, 3
and by method of battery recovery; 4
(c) A calculation of the recovery efficiency rate; 5
(d) Identification of all facilities utilized by the organization for recovery or 6
other management of covered batteries and battery components and a 7
description of how the facility recovered or otherwise managed covered 8
batteries and battery components; 9
(e) The weight and chemistry, using approximations or actual amount, of 10
covered batteries sent to each facility that is used for the final disposition of 11
batteries; and 12
(f) A detailed description of education and outreach efforts supporting plan 13
implementation and an evaluation of the effectiveness of education and 14
outreach activities. 15