Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 75.00 - Collection, Recycling, Labeling And Sales Ban Of Mercury-added Products › Section 75.04 - Plans for Collecting and Recycling Mercury-added Products

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) No later than March 3, 2008, every
			 manufacturer of a mercury-added product subject to 310 CMR 75.00 whose products
			 are sold, offered for sale, or distributed in Massachusetts shall develop and
			 file with the Department a plan for collection, storage (including containment
			 of mercury-added products and/or components), transportation, and recycling of
			 end-of-life mercury-added products in accordance with 310 CMR 30.000. Such
			 plans shall provide methods of collection and recycling that are convenient and
			 accessible to product purchasers and users.
(2) No person shall sell, offer for sale or
			 distribute a mercury-added product to which 310 CMR 75.00 applies after March
			 3, 2008, unless its manufacturer files with the Department a plan as specified
			 in
			 310 CMR
			 75.04 for collecting its mercury-added
			 product(s) at the end of the product's useful life and recycling its mercury
			 content, and commences implementation of such plan.
(3) Every manufacturer of mercury-added
			 products sold or distributed in Massachusetts shall be financially responsible
			 for developing and implementing a plan that meets the requirements of
			 310 CMR
			 75.04.
(4) Where a mercury-added component is part
			 of another product, the collection system shall provide for collection of the
			 mercury-added component or collection of both the mercury-added component and
			 the product containing it.
(5)
			 Plans for collection and recycling of mercury-added products may be submitted
			 by a trade association or industry group on behalf of a specific group of
			 manufacturers.
(6) Plans for
			 collection and recycling of mercury-added products shall include, at a minimum,
			 the following information:
(a) Applicant's
			 name, telephone number, North American Industry Classification System, and web
			 address. If a trade association is submitting a plan on behalf of a group of
			 manufacturers, include trade association name, telephone number and web
			 address, and list of participating manufacturers' names with respective contact
			 information.
(b) Applicant's
			 address, including the mailing address.
(c) The address, telephone number, and e-mail
			 address of a contact person for the applicant.
(d) A description of how to advise purchasers
			 of the mercury-added product(s) about the collection and recycling program,
			 including the purpose of the collection and recycling program, and how they may
			 participate. The description must identify the parties who will be responsible
			 for implementing the purchaser education plan, and the date on which it will
			 commence implementation. Such description shall also include, but shall not be
			 limited to, notification to all persons who sell, distribute, or offer the
			 mercury-added product(s) for sale in Massachusetts that the product(s) cannot
			 be sold unless they are covered by the manufacturer's collection and recycling
			 plan. Such notification shall be repeated on a specified basis that shall be no
			 less frequent than annually.
(e)
			 Location of all mercury-added components in each product covered by the Plan,
			 and directions for removing them to aid collection (if appropriate).
(f) If applicable, documentation regarding
			 the intention of the applicant to phase-out use of mercury in the product or
			 the sale of the mercury-added product in Massachusetts, and the schedule for
			 the phase-out.
(g) Identification
			 of currently available collection and recycling methods for the mercury-added
			 product(s) and information about the extent to which the mercury-added
			 product(s) is currently collected and recycled at the end of its useful
			 life.
(h) Description of the system
			 that will be employed for collection, storage, transportation, and recycling of
			 the mercury-added product(s), including provision for managing collected
			 mercury-added products in accordance with 310 CMR 30.000: Hazardous Waste. Such
			 system shall be convenient and accessible for the product user. It may employ:
1. the direct return of an end-of-life
			 product or component to the manufacturer, or its agents;
2. a drop off program where a receiving
			 facility is no farther than a 30 minute driving distance for any Massachusetts
			 generator of the end-of-life mercury-added product; or
3. another system that is as convenient to
			 the product user as the original product purchase.
(i) Schedule for implementing the plan,
			 including the date on which collection will commence. Collection shall commence
			 no later than 45 days after submittal of the plan to the Department.
(j) Documentation of the commitment of all
			 necessary parties to perform as intended in the planned collection and
			 recycling program.
(k)
			 Documentation demonstrating how the manufacturer will finance the proposed
			 collection and recycling program. The cost of the program shall not be borne by
			 state or local government. Financing may include the recovery of a product that
			 has an economic value to processors, such as silver oxide batteries.
(l) The targeted recycling rate for the
			 collection and recycling of mercury-added product(s), or components covered in
			 the Plan, a description of the performance measures to be used to demonstrate
			 that the collection and recycling program is meeting the target recycling rate
			 and the recordkeeping protocol that will be implemented to demonstrate
			 compliance with the Plan.
1. Such target
			 recycling rate shall be expressed as a percentage, where the numerator is the
			 number of mercury-added product(s) (or mercury-added components) expected to be
			 collected in Massachusetts and recycled in each year of the Plan's operation,
			 and the denominator is an estimate of the number of mercury-added products (or
			 mercury-added components) expected to be available for collection in
			 Massachusetts and recycling each year. The estimated number of products
			 expected to be available for collection in any year shall be based on a rolling
			 average life expectancy of the product (assuming normal use by the user) and
			 sales data, and other indications of the number of products that are likely to
			 be retired (or reach the end of their useful life) in each year.
2. For plans submitted by an individual
			 manufacturer, the target recycling rate shall be based on that manufacturer's
			 Massachusetts sales data and average product life expectancy. For plans
			 submitted by a trade association or industry group on behalf of a group of
			 manufacturers, the target recycling rate shall be based on the group's
			 Massachusetts sales data and average product life expectancy.
3. The target recycling rate shall not be
			 less than the rates established in
			 310 CMR
			 75.04(6)(l)3.:
Table
			 1
:
TABLE 1
Target Recycling Rates for Mercury-added Products
							 Generated in Massachusetts
Calendar Year
Target Recycling Rate
2008
30%
2009
40%
2010
50%
2011
75%
Each subsequent year
75%
4. The
			 target recycling rate for mercury-added products first sold, offered for sale
			 or distributed after March 3, 2008 shall be 75%, to be achieved by the end of
			 the first full year of the product's sale or distribution in Massachusetts.
(m) Description of
			 additional or alternative actions that will be implemented to improve the
			 collection and recycling program and its operation in the event that the target
			 recycling rate is not met; and
(n)
			 Other special conditions or information related to the affected mercury-added
			 product(s), such as special handling that will be required by product users to
			 participate in the collection and recycling program.