Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-900 - Electronic products recycling program › Part I - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS › Section 173-900-030 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
"Authority"
means the Washington materials management and financing authority.
"Authorized party"
means a manufacturer who submits an individual independent plan or the entity authorized to submit an independent plan for more than one manufacturer.
"Board"
means the board of directors of the Washington materials management and financing authority.
"Brand"
means a name used to identify an electronic product in the consumer marketplace which attributes the electronic product to the owner of the name as the manufacturer.
"Brand label"
typically includes, but is not limited to, name, logos, trademarks, and other visual elements including fonts, color schemes, shapes, symbols, and icons, which, when set in a special typeface or arranged in a particular way, differentiate electronic products by their manufacturers and brand owners.
"Cathode ray tube"
or
"CRT"
means a vacuum tube, composed primarily of glass, which is the visual or video display component of an electronic device. A used, intact CRT means a CRT whose vacuum has not been released. A used, broken CRT means glass removed from its housing or casing whose vacuum has been released.
"Certified"
means certified by signature on a form or other "hard copy," or by electronic signature or certification by a means implemented and approved by ecology, to be sent by mail or faxed or otherwise submitted to ecology.
"Charity"
means an organization that qualifies for a taxation exemption under section  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Sec. 501 (c)(3)).
"Collection services"
include drop-off collection sites or alternative collection services such as residential at-home pick-up services, curb-side collection, or premium services such as those provided when performing system up-grades at small businesses.
"Collector"
means an entity that is licensed to do business in Washington state and that gathers unwanted covered electronic products from households, small businesses, school districts, small governments, and charities for the purpose of recycling and meets the registration and collector performance standard requirements in Part IV, WAC 173-900-400 through 173-900-490.
"Component"
includes, but is not limited to, televisions, computers, laptops, portable computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, and external hard drives.
"Computer"
means a machine, used by one user at a time, designed for manipulating data according to a list of instructions known as a program, and are generally known as desktops, laptops, and portable computers.
"Computer"
does not include any of the following:
(a) Computer servers marketed to professional users; or
(b) Retail store terminals or cash registers, used at customer checkout in the retail industry.
"Contract for services"
means an instrument executed by the authority and one or more persons or entities that delineates collection, transportation, processing and recycling services, in whole or in part, that will be provided to the citizens of Washington state within service areas as described in the approved standard plan.
"Covered electronic product"
or
"CEP"
includes any one of the following four types of products that has been used in Washington state by any covered entity, regardless of original point of purchase:
(a) Any monitor having a viewable area greater than four inches when measured diagonally;
(b) A desktop computer;
(c) A laptop or a portable computer; or
(d) Any video display device having a viewable area greater than four inches when measured diagonally.
"Covered electronic product"
does not include:
(a) A motor vehicle or replacement parts for use in motor vehicles or aircraft, or any computer, computer monitor, or television that is contained within, and is not separate from, the motor vehicle or aircraft;
(b) Monitoring and control instruments or systems;
(c) Medical devices;
(d) Products including materials intended for use as ingredients in those products as defined in the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.) or the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act of 1913 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.), and regulations issued under those acts;
(e) Equipment used in the delivery of patient care in a health care setting;
(f) A computer, computer monitor, or television 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; automatic teller machines, vending machines or similar business transaction machines; or
(g) Hand-held portable voice or data devices used for commercial mobile services as defined in 47 U.S.C. Sec. 332 (d)(1).
"Covered entity"
means any household, charity, school district, small business, or small government located in Washington state.
"Curbside service"
means a collection service providing regularly scheduled pickup of covered electronic products from households or other covered entities in quantities generated from households.
"Desktop"
is a computer designed for nonportable use.
"Direct processor"
means a processor contracted with a CEP recycling plan to provide processing services for the plan.
"Ecology"
means the department of ecology.
"Electronic product"
includes any monitor having a viewable area greater than four inches when measured diagonally; a desktop computer; a laptop or portable computer; or any video display device having a viewable area greater than four inches when measured diagonally.
"Equivalent share"
means the weight in pounds of covered electronic products identified for an individual manufacturer as described in Part IX, WAC 173-900-930, 173-900-940, and 173-900-950.
"Existing manufacturers"
are those entities whose covered electronic products are offered for sale or sold in or into Washington state, through any sales method, on or before December 8, 2006.
"Household"
means a single detached dwelling unit or a single unit of a multiple dwelling unit and appurtenant structures.
"Implement"
or
"plan implementation"
means that collection, transportation, processing, and recycling services and other plan requirements are fully operational as described in the approved CEP recycling plan.
"Independent plan"
means a plan for the collection, transportation, processing and recycling of unwanted covered electronic products that is developed, implemented, and financed by an individual manufacturer or by an authorized party.
"Laptop"
is a computer.
"Manufacturer"
means the person who:
(a) Has legal ownership of the brand, brand-name or cobrand of covered electronic products sold in or into Washington state;
(b) Imports an electronic product branded by a manufacturer that meets (a) of this subsection and that manufacturer has no physical presence in the United States of America;
(c) Sells at retail a covered electronic product acquired from an importer that is the manufacturer as described in (b) of this subsection, and elects to register in lieu of the importer; or
(d) Beginning in program year 2016, elects to assume the responsibility and register in lieu of a manufacturer as defined under this section. In the event the entity that assumes responsibility fails to comply, the manufacturer as defined under (a) through (c) of this subsection remains fully responsible.
"Manufacturers whose CEPs are not directly sold in or into Washington state"
are those entities who have never sold or offered for sale covered electronic products in or into Washington state.
"Manufacturers who previously manufactured"
are those entities that previously manufactured covered electronic products but no longer do so.
"Market share"
means a percent of covered electronic products by weight sold in Washington state representing the manufacturer's share of all covered electronic products sold in Washington state assigned to a registered manufacturer based on the calculations in WAC 173-900-280.
"Material"
means processed CEPs, components, and parts.
"Materials of concern"
are any of the following:
(a) Any devices, including fluorescent tubes, containing mercury or PCBs;
(b) Batteries;
(c) CRTs and leaded glass; and
(d) Whole circuit boards.
"Monitor"
is a video display device without a tuner that can display pictures and sound and is used with a computer.
"New entrant"
means:
(a) A manufacturer of televisions that have been sold in Washington state for less than ten consecutive years; or
(b) A manufacturer of desktop computers, laptop and portable computers, or computer monitors that have been sold in Washington state for less than five consecutive years;
(c) However, a manufacturer of both televisions and computers or a manufacturer of both televisions and computer monitors that is deemed a new entrant under either only (a) or (b) of this subsection is considered an existing manufacturer and not a new entrant for purposes of this chapter.
"New manufacturers to Washington state"
are those entities whose covered electronic products are offered for sale or sold in or into Washington state for the first time after December 8, 2006. These manufacturers become existing manufacturers for all program years after participation the first year.
"Nonprofit organization"
means an organization that qualifies for a taxation exemption under section  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Sec. 501 (c)(3)).
"Offering for sale"
means providing electronic products for purchase, in or into Washington state, regardless of sales method.
"Orphan product"
means a covered electronic product that lacks a manufacturer's brand or for which the manufacturer is no longer in business and has no successor in interest, or is a brand for which ecology cannot identify an owner.
"Part"
means whole pieces out of CEPs, or components such as but not limited to processors, chips, or cathode ray tubes.
"Person"
means any individual, business, manufacturer, transporter, collector, processor, retailer, charity, nonprofit organization, or government agency.
"Plan"
means a CEP recycling plan.
"Plan's equivalent share"
means the weight in pounds of covered electronic products for which a plan is responsible. A plan's equivalent share is equal to the sum of the equivalent shares of each manufacturer participating in that plan.
"Plan's market share"
means the sum of the market shares of each manufacturer participating in that plan.
"Portable computer"
is a computer.
"Preferred status"
means that a direct processor is conforming with the performance standards for electronic product recycling as described in ecology's publication "
Environmentally Sound Management and Performance Standards for Direct Processors
."
"Premium service"
means services such as at-location system upgrade services provided to covered entities and at-home pickup services offered to households or any handling requirements imposed by the covered entity in excess of those required in this chapter. Premium service does not include curbside service.
"Processing facility"
means a facility where the processing of CEPs for a plan is conducted by a direct processor.
"Providing processing services"
means disassembling, dismantling, or shredding electronic products to recover materials contained in the CEPs received from registered collectors or transporters and preparing those materials for reclaiming or reuse in accordance with processing standards established by this chapter.
"Processor"
means an entity:
(a) Engaged in disassembling, dismantling, or shredding electronic products to recover materials contained in the electronic products and preparing those materials for reclaiming or reuse in new products in accordance with processing standards established by this chapter; and
(b) That may salvage CEPs, components, and parts to be used as or in a salvaged or restored CEP.
"Product type"
means one of the following categories: Computer monitors; desktop computers; laptop and portable computers; and televisions.
"Program"
means the collection, transportation, processing and recycling activities conducted to implement an independent plan or the standard plan. Programs can vary for different areas of the state.
"Program year"
means each full calendar year after the program has been initiated.
"Recycling"
means transforming or remanufacturing unwanted electronic products, components, and by-products into usable or marketable materials for use other than landfill disposal or incineration.
"Recycling"
does not include energy recovery or energy generation by means of combusting unwanted electronic products, components, and by-products with or without other waste. Smelting of electronic materials to recover metals for reuse in conformance with all applicable laws and regulations is not considered disposal or energy recovery.
"Residual"
means leftover materials from processing CEPs, components, parts and materials. Residuals cannot be used for their original function or cannot be recycled and are sent by a processor to a disposal facility.
"Retailer"
means a person who offers covered electronic products for sale at retail through any means including, but not limited to, remote offerings such as sales outlets, catalogs, or the internet, but does not include a sale that is either reused products or a wholesale transaction with a distributor or a retailer.
"Reuse"
means any operation by which an electronic product or a component of a covered electronic product changes ownership and is used, as is, for the same purpose for which it was originally purchased.
"Sell"
or
"sold"
means an electronic product is purchased regardless of sales method.
"Small business"
means a business employing less than fifty people.
"Small government"
means a city in Washington state with a population less than fifty thousand, a county in Washington state with a population less than one hundred twenty-five thousand, and special purpose districts in Washington state.
"Standard plan"
means the plan for the collection, transportation, processing and recycling of unwanted covered electronic products developed, implemented, and financed by the authority on behalf of manufacturers participating in the authority.
"Television"
is an enclosed video display device with a tuner able to receive and output frequency waves or digital signals to display pictures and sounds.
"Transporter"
means an entity that transports covered electronic products from collection sites or services to processors or other locations for the purpose of recycling, but does not include any entity or person that hauls their own unwanted electronic products.
"Unwanted electronic product"
means a covered electronic product that has been discarded or is intended to be discarded by its owner.
"White box manufacturer"
means a person who manufactured unbranded covered electronic products offered for sale in Washington state within ten consecutive years prior to a program year for televisions or within five consecutive years prior to a program year for desktop computers, laptop or portable computers, or computer monitors.
"Video display devices"
include units capable of presenting images electronically on a screen, with a viewable area greater than four inches when measured diagonally, viewed by the user and may include cathode ray tubes, flat panel computer monitors, plasma displays, liquid crystal displays, rear and front enclosed projection devices, and other similar displays that exist or may be developed. Televisions and monitors are video display devices.
Statutory Authority: Chapters 70.95N,
					 70.105, and
					 70.105D RCW. 07-21-013 (Order
					 07-05), § 173-900-030, filed 10/5/07, effective 11/5/07. Statutory
					 Authority: Chapter 70.95N RCW. 06-23-040 (Order 06-07), § 173-900-030,
					 filed 11/7/06, effective 12/8/06.