SF 1595

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to the environment; providing for electronic
waste recycling; proposing coding for new law as
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 114D.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [114D.05] DEFINITIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Scope. new text end

new text begin For the purposes of this chapter,
the words in this section have the meanings given.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Cathode ray tube. new text end

new text begin "Cathode ray tube" means a
vacuum tube or picture tube used to convert an electronic signal
into a visual image.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Collection and recycling system. new text end

new text begin "Collection
and recycling system" means the system for the collection,
packaging, transportation, and recycling of products discarded
by consumers.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Computer monitor. new text end

new text begin "Computer monitor" means a
cathode ray tube or flat panel display primarily intended to
display information from a central processing unit, network, or
the internet.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Electronic product. new text end

new text begin "Electronic product"
includes but is not limited to computer equipment such as
cathode ray tubes, display monitors, central processing units,
keyboards, printers, and peripherals; televisions, computer
monitors, liquid crystal displays or other flat panel
television, computer monitor, or similar video display products;
telecommunication equipment such as telephones, cellular phones,
facsimile machines, and answering machines; small electronic
devices and appliances containing one or more circuit boards or
other similar operating unit; video and stereo equipment; toys,
games, and educational devices containing one or more printed
circuit boards or similar operating unit; and major household
appliances containing one or more printed circuit board or
similar operating unit and all its components, constituent
subunits, and materials from which the subunits are made.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Electronic waste. new text end

new text begin "Electronic waste" means an
electronic product that has been discarded, become obsolete,
ceased to function, is no longer wanted by its owner, or for any
other reason enters the collection, recovery, treatment,
processing, or recycling system.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Environment. new text end

new text begin "Environment" includes but is not
limited to all the state's natural resources including land,
air, and water resources, and plant and animal species, and the
habitat upon which they depend.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Generator. new text end

new text begin "Generator" means schools,
governmental units, businesses with six or fewer employees, and
nonprofit organizations, as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, with 30 or fewer employees.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Hazardous electronic waste. new text end

new text begin "Hazardous
electronic waste" means electronic waste and its components,
constituent subunits, or materials from which the subunits are
made, that contain concentrations of toxic materials exceeding
the regulatory levels established in Code of Federal
Regulations, title 40, section 261.24, as it exists on January
1, 2006, using the toxic characteristic leaching procedure.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Historic waste. new text end

new text begin "Historic waste" means a
covered electronic product that was put on the market prior to
July 1, 2005.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Household. new text end

new text begin "Household" means a single detached
dwelling unit or a single unit of a multiple dwelling unit and
appurtenant structures.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 12. new text end

new text begin Orphan waste. new text end

new text begin "Orphan waste" means electronic
waste manufactured by or bearing the brand name of a company
that is no longer in business as of the January 1, 2006,
requirements of this act.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 13. new text end

new text begin Plan. new text end

new text begin "Plan" means the plan for
producer-financed collection, recovery, and recycling of
electronic waste as provided for in section 114D.15.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 14. new text end

new text begin Producer. new text end

new text begin "Producer" means any person,
irrespective of the sales techniques or channels used to sell
products, including by means of distance communication, that:
new text end

new text begin (1) manufactures and sells electronic equipment under its
own brand;
new text end

new text begin (2) resells under its own brand equipment produced by other
suppliers, unless the brand of the actual manufacturer appears
on the equipment;
new text end

new text begin (3) imports electronic equipment for first sale in
Minnesota; or
new text end

new text begin (4) manufactures and sells electronic equipment without
affixing a brand.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 15. new text end

new text begin Producer-abandoned waste. new text end

new text begin "Producer-abandoned
waste" means electronic waste for which the manufacturer or a
successor exists for which the state is unable to enforce this
chapter for any reason, including because electronic equipment
from the manufacturer or successor is no longer sold in
Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 16. new text end

new text begin Pro rata share. new text end

new text begin "Pro rata share" means a
percentage of all electronic waste delivered to intermediate
consolidation points excluding orphan waste and
producer-abandoned waste. Pro rata shares are calculated by
return weight and differentiated by type of product. Each
manufacturer shall have the pro rata share represented by the
brands it manufactures among the types of electronic products it
manufactures.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 17. new text end

new text begin Recycling. new text end

new text begin "Recycling" means the reprocessing
of electronic waste materials for the original purpose or for
other purposes, excluding energy recovery or energy generation
by means of combusting electronic waste with or without other
waste.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 18. new text end

new text begin Reuse. new text end

new text begin "Reuse" means an operation by which
electronic waste or components thereof are used for the same
purpose for which they were conceived, including the continued
use of the equipment or components thereof which are returned to
collection points, recyclers, or producers.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [114D.10] HISTORIC ELECTRONIC WASTE.
new text end

new text begin (a) Each producer is responsible for financing the
management of electronic waste in accordance with this chapter.
For all products put on the market prior to January 1, 2006,
producer responsibility for historic and orphan waste must be
determined annually by the return share of the producer during
the current year. "Return share" means a percentage of all
covered electronic products collected, calculated by return
weight differentiated by type of product. Each producer must
have the return share represented by the brands it sells among
the type of products it manufactures. The producer may choose
to fulfill this obligation either individually or collectively
where one or more third-party organizations may be established
by producers to collectively take back historic and orphan waste.
new text end

new text begin (b) A limited advance collection fee, for the sole purpose
of paying for a collection program implemented by any
governmental or nongovernmental entity that serves the
collection function, may be used until July 1, 2009. Producers
have full responsibility for collection, transport, and
recycling of electronic waste. Producers may use an advance
collection fee visible to the consumer, when selling a similar
new electronic product, for up to two years in an amount
sufficient to pay actual costs of collection and transport of
historic waste, but all collection and transport costs must be
internalized into the product price after this period.
new text end

new text begin (c) A producer may fulfill its individual responsibility
under this subdivision either individually or by joining a
representative organization of producers. An organization of
producers must meet the same standards and requirements of the
plans submitted by individual producers.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [114D.15] COLLECTION; RECYCLING PLAN AND
REQUIREMENTS.
new text end

new text begin (a) Beginning July 1, 2007, producers of electronic
products sold in Minnesota, including those products sold by
means of distance communication, but not including cathode ray
tubes, must:
new text end

new text begin (1) register with the Pollution Control Agency as described
in paragraph (f);
new text end

new text begin (2) no later than nine months after a product enters the
market, provide information to recyclers and processors
regarding the end-of-life treatment of the new product relating
to disassembly, material content, and safety concerns so as to
facilitate the correct and environmentally sound treatment of
electronic waste;
new text end

new text begin (3) label each product identifying hazardous materials
contained in the product and its parts or subunits;
new text end

new text begin (4) provide information clearly stating that the product
must be kept out of landfills and incinerators and other
combustion processes and be placed in the producer's recycling
or reuse program;
new text end

new text begin (5) provide a toll-free phone number or Web site address
where consumers can obtain information and instructions about
the safe disposition of the electronic product through the
producer's recycling or reuse plan;
new text end

new text begin (6) certify that electronic products, including whole units
of electronic waste as well as the constituent subunits or
materials from which the units are made, will not and do not
enter landfills, incinerators, cement kilns, or other forms of
energy recovery or energy generation dependent on combustion of
electronic waste;
new text end

new text begin (7) document and certify that the program has not resulted
in the overseas export of electronic waste to any
non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
country and complies with the Basel Ban Amendment decision
(Decision III/1) of the Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal;
new text end

new text begin (8) certify that the collection, recycling, and reuse
system, and all necessary parties, operate in compliance with
local, state, and federal waste management rules and
regulations;
new text end

new text begin (9) accept electronic waste from households and generators
at no charge;
new text end

new text begin (10) submit a plan to the agency that:
new text end

new text begin (i) describes the implementation and financing for the
collection, treatment, recovery, reuse, and disposition of all
the producer's products, including orphan and producer-abandoned
waste, sold in Minnesota;
new text end

new text begin (ii) describes the producer's method for reimbursing local
governments, nonprofit corporations, and retailers for the cost
of collection and recycling of the producer's covered electronic
products;
new text end

new text begin (iii) certifies that no prison labor is used unless those
involved are provided with compensation equivalent to market
rate wages for the work performed and are afforded the
protections of state occupational safety and health laws and
regulations, as well as those protections required by this
chapter;
new text end

new text begin (iv) demonstrates that the producer has adequate measures
to provide information in accordance with clause (2); and
new text end

new text begin (v) describes the performance measures used and reported by
the producer to demonstrate that the plan is meeting the
required recovery and recycling rates for its own brand of
covered electronic products and describes alternative actions
that will be taken should performance measures not be met; and
new text end

new text begin (11) certify, by affidavit, that the producer is in
compliance with this paragraph.
new text end

new text begin (b) The agency must, within 30 days of receiving a plan,
approve or disapprove the plan.
new text end

new text begin (c) Each producer is responsible for collection, and reuse
or recycling each year, of its waste electronic products and its
pro rata share of orphan waste and producer-abandoned waste.
new text end

new text begin (d) A producer may fulfill its responsibilities under this
section through a representative third-party organization of
producers. An organization of producers must meet the same
standards and requirements of the plans submitted by individual
producers.
new text end

new text begin (e) Effective July 1, 2005, producers of cathode ray tubes
must comply with paragraphs (a) to (d) and all other provisions
in this chapter.
new text end

new text begin (f) Registration includes, but is not limited to, a listing
of all brand labels owned by the producer, its subsidiaries, or
any companies acquired by the producer. The commissioner of the
Pollution Control Agency may, at any time, revoke a registration
upon being presented with evidence that the producer is not in
compliance with the requirements of this chapter. After
revocation, a producer may not sell its product in the state.
new text end

new text begin (g) The Pollution Control Agency shall not approve any plan
that includes:
new text end

new text begin (1) a fee imposed at the time of sale of the product except
for the limited purpose established in section 114D.10;
new text end

new text begin (2) a fee at the time the discarded electronic product is
delivered by a household or generator to a collection point or
is collected from the consumer;
new text end

new text begin (3) a fee imposed at the time of sale for the purpose of
funding producer recycling; or
new text end

new text begin (4) a cost to be imposed on a local unit of government
unless the cost is agreed to by the local unit of government and
the agreement is published on the agency's Web site and gives
legal notice to the affected taxpayers.
new text end

Sec. 4.

new text begin [114D.20] REPORTING.
new text end

new text begin (a) All information required under section 114D.15, as well
as agency decisions and orders, must be made available to the
public, in an easy-to-access manner and convenient format, via
the agency's Web site within three business days after receipt
of such information by the agency and agency decisions.
new text end

new text begin (b) A retailer is not responsible for an unlawful sale
pursuant to section 114D.15 if the certification relied upon by
the retailer in making the unlawful sale was incorrect, or if
the registration expired or was revoked and the retailer took
possession of the electronic product prior to the expiration or
revocation of the registration and the unlawful sale occurred
within 30 days after the expiration or revocation.
new text end

Sec. 5.

new text begin [114D.25] ENFORCEMENT.
new text end

new text begin The Pollution Control Agency may enforce this chapter under
sections 115.071 and 116.072.
new text end

Sec. 6.

new text begin [114D.30] PRIVATE RIGHT OF ENFORCEMENT.
new text end

new text begin Each person may enforce this right, as well as enforce the
provisions and requirements of this chapter, against any party,
government or private, through appropriate legal proceedings,
including declaratory and equitable relief, civil penalties, and
restoration damages, to protect the public health and
environment of Minnesota from pollution, impairment, or
destruction resulting from electronic waste. The court may
award the full costs of litigation, including but not limited to
reasonable expert witness and attorney's fees, to the prevailing
plaintiffs. This provision supplements existing rights and
procedures provided by law.
new text end

Sec. 7.

new text begin [114D.35] HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTECTIONS.
new text end

new text begin All persons collecting, recovering, and recycling
electronic waste as part of the producer plan in section 114D.15
must protect the health and safety of their workers and
contractors by:
new text end

new text begin (1) providing clear evidence of compliance with all state
and federal occupational safety and health laws and regulations;
new text end

new text begin (2) performing routine industrial hygiene monitoring and
quarterly reporting for all facilities for all hazardous
materials of concern, including but not limited to monitoring
for airborne lead and bromine, chlorine, and mercury compounds;
and
new text end

new text begin (3) performing routine human health monitoring and
quarterly reporting, in accordance with all applicable privacy
protections, for all workers and contractors, including but not
limited to blood testing for exposure to lead and bromine,
chlorine, and mercury compounds.
new text end

Sec. 8.

new text begin [114D.40] SERVICE.
new text end

new text begin (a) Producers selling electronic products in Minnesota,
under an approved plan described in section 114D.15, must
provide:
new text end

new text begin (1) within 24 months of financial responsibility, three
collection and recovery points per 10,000 persons population;
and
new text end

new text begin (2) within 50 months of financial responsibility, six
collection and recovery points per 10,000 persons population;
new text end

new text begin (b) Producers must include direct collection, but
generators and households may be responsible for delivering
electronic waste into the collection system, as contained in the
producer's plan.
new text end

Sec. 9.

new text begin [114D.45] HAZARDOUS MATERIALS PHASEOUT.
new text end

new text begin (a) No later than January 1, 2007, producers selling
electronic equipment in Minnesota must phase out the use of
lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, brominated flame
retardants, and polyvinyl chloride and only offer for sale
products that contain less harmful alternatives.
new text end

new text begin (b) If a producer provides sufficient demonstration to the
department that it is technically impossible to use an
alternative substance, a limited-term exemption may be issued by
the agency. An exemption must be rescinded by the agency when
the agency determines that a less harmful alternative for the
substance can be used.
new text end

new text begin (c) If the exemption is granted by the agency, the agency
may assign a limited amount of time before the exemption expires
to ensure that producers are investing in research and
development to identify an appropriate less harmful alternative.
new text end

Sec. 10.

new text begin [114D.50] PERFORMANCE GOALS; PROTECTIONS FOR
HUMAN HEALTH; ENVIRONMENT; TAXPAYERS.
new text end

new text begin (a) By January 1, 2007, or upon approval of the producer's
plan, whichever is sooner, producers of electronic equipment
sold in this state shall provide to the agency a financial
guarantee to ensure that no costs for program evaluation,
enforcement, or for the management of orphan and historic waste
is borne by taxpayers. The guarantee may take the form of
participation by the producer in a third-party organization for
financing the management of waste electrical and electronic
equipment, a recycling insurance, or a blocked bank account.
new text end

new text begin (b) Producers must manage their take-back programs so as to
ensure that by July 1, 2007, electronic waste recovery is equal
to or exceeds 75 percent by number of the producer's products
sold in this state and 65 percent or greater reuse or recycling
of the components and materials contained in their products; and
by January 1, 2010, recovery equal to or greater than 90 percent
by number of their products sold in this state and 95 percent or
greater reuse or recycling of the components and materials
contained in their products.
new text end

new text begin (c) By January 1, 2007, the commissioner of administration
shall establish purchasing and procurement policies requiring
vendors of electronic equipment sold to the state to take back
electronic waste when the equipment becomes obsolete, is
discarded, or is otherwise taken out of service. The policies
must also establish a preference for electronic equipment that
meets specified environmental performance standards relating to
the reduction or elimination of hazardous materials.
new text end

new text begin (d) The Pollution Control Agency must establish a
multistakeholder Oversight and Advisory Committee by January 1,
2007, for the purpose of overseeing producer program plan
implementation, reviewing producer plan annual reports, and
identifying and recommending additional products to be included
as electronic waste. An annual report consistent with this
section must be submitted to the legislature commencing in
February 2006.
new text end

Sec. 11. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 10 are repealed 90 days after the director
publishes a notice in the State Register that a national program
for collecting, transporting, and reusing or recycling
electronic waste is established and implemented and is
determined to be functioning in a manner that complies with
environmental and health laws without shifting fiscal burdens to
state agencies or local units of government.
new text end

Sec. 12. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 11 are effective January 1, 2006.
new text end