2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21h - Solid Waste Facilities › Section 6j - Sale of Mercury-Added Products; Collection Plan; Mercury-Added Lamps

Section 6J. (a) No person shall sell or offer to sell or distribute a mercury-added product in the commonwealth unless the manufacturer has created and filed with the department a convenient and accessible collection plan for mercury-added products at the end-of-life, including a system for the direct return of the mercury-added product to the manufacturer or a collection and recycling plan, in accordance with chapter 21C and the department's regulations concerning hazardous waste, using new or existing collection systems. The plan shall be approved or certified, as determined by the department, and shall be implemented by the manufacturers.
(b) Where a mercury-added component is part of another product, the collection system must provide for collection of the mercury-added component or collection of both the mercury-added component and the product containing it.
(c) Every manufacturer of mercury-added products sold or distributed in the commonwealth shall be financially responsible for such collection and recycling systems.
(d)(1) A manufacturer of mercury-added lamps shall satisfy the requirements of this section if such manufacturer who sells mercury-added lamps in the commonwealth individually pays, until June 30, 2024, an annual registration fee, not to exceed $10,000 per year, into an expendable trust, under section 6 of chapter 6A and any applicable regulations, for the limited purpose of department and municipal administration, access, communication, enforcement and education costs for proper mercury-added lamp recycling or disposal. For the purposes of this subsection, the aggregate annual registration fees paid by such manufacturers shall be equal to $300,000 per year; provided, however, that if the aggregate annual registration fees do not equal $300,000, the department, pursuant to section 18 of chapter 21A, shall adjust the annual registration fee in excess of $10,000 per year, for the sole purpose of reaching annual aggregate registration fees of $300,000.
(2) A person who sells fluorescent lamps at retail for residential or commercial customers may post the following notice in 24–point type or larger and in a manner clearly visible to a consumer examining fluorescent lamps offered for sale: ''Fluorescent bulbs save energy and reduce environmental pollution. Note: Fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and must be properly recycled at the end of their use. Contact your municipality or www.lamprecycle.org for bulb recycling options.'' A retailer may include additional language in the notice in order to promote the sale or in-store recycling of fluorescent lamps, provided that the notice language set forth in this subsection is present. A manufacturer, individually or collectively, shall provide a printed copy of that notice, free of charge, at the request of any retailer of mercury-added lamps for its retail establishment in the commonwealth.
(e)(1) An inspector, as defined by section 1 of chapter 143, may enforce subsection (a) of section 6I. A municipality may, under its authority in section 94 of said chapter 143, institute additional fines and penalties for violations of said subsection (a) of said section 6I. Any municipal employee enforcing this section shall refer cases to and cooperate with district attorneys, the attorney general and other state law enforcement officials to enforce said subsection (a) of said section 6I.
(2)(a) A qualified mercury-added lamp recycler engaged in the collection and recycling of mercury-added lamps shall issue a certificate of mercury lamp recycling to all customers upon collection. Customers shall keep these certificates on file for not less than 36 months and provide access to the department upon request.
(b) A qualified mercury-added lamp recycler shall, provide annually, information regarding the recycling of lamps by any person in the commonwealth as requested by the department. The department may establish by rule the information that qualified mercury-added lamp recyclers shall provide.
(f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit retailers, distributors, wholesalers or any other group from creating and implementing a collection plan for mercury-added lamps or any other mercury-added product.
(g) This section shall not apply to mercury-added button cell batteries, motor vehicles or motor vehicle components.
(h) Mercury-added formulated products intended to be totally consumed in use, such as reagents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other laboratory chemicals, shall be exempt from this section.
(i) This section shall not apply to refurbished medical equipment or products where the only mercury contained in the product comes from a removable mercury-added button cell battery or a mercury-added lamp.
(j) This section shall not apply to mercury-added antique barometers, antique thermometers, and antique clocks if the antique barometer, thermometer or clock was manufactured prior to 1955.