2015 Rhode Island General Laws
Title 23 - Health and Safety
Chapter 23-24.10 - Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Act
Section 23-24.10-9 - Manufacturer responsibility.

§ 23-24.10-9 Manufacturer responsibility. – (a) A manufacturer choosing to implement a manufacturer program shall submit a plan to the department at the time of payment of the annual registration fee required under subsection 23-24.10-8(c).

(b) The manufacturer's plan must describe how the manufacturer will:

(1) Finance, manage and conduct a statewide program to collect covered electronic products from households and public and private elementary and secondary schools in this state;

(2) Provide for environmentally sound management practices to collect, transport and recycle covered electronic products;

(3) Provide for advertising and promotion of collection opportunities statewide and on a regular basis; and

(4) Include convenient service statewide. Collection sites shall be staffed and open to the public at a frequency adequate to meet the needs of the area being served. A program may provide collection service jointly with another program and may include, but not be limited to, mail back programs and collection events.

(c) The plan shall include a statement disclosing whether: (1) any video display devices sold in Rhode Island exceed the maximum concentration values established for lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated diphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) under the RoHS (restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) directive 2002/95/EC of the European parliament and council and any amendments there to enacted as of the date; or (2) the manufacturer has received an exemption from one or more of those maximum concentration values under the RoHS directive that has been approved and published by the European commission.

(d) A manufacturer choosing to implement a manufacturer program shall:

(1) Provide for collection, transportation and recycling of covered electronic products from households and public and private elementary and secondary schools free of charge and a manufacturer that provides premium service for a person may charge for the additional cost of that premium service.

(2) Implement the plan and provide a report to the department no later than February 1 of each year that details how the plan required under this section was implemented during the previous calendar year.

(3) Conduct a statistically significant sampling or actual count of the covered electronic products collected and recycled by the manufacturer each calendar year using a methodology approved by the department. The manufacturer shall report the results of the sampling or count to the department no later than January 1 of the following calendar year. For all manufacturers, excluding televisions manufactured, the report must include:

(i) A list of all brands identified during the sampling or count by the manufacturer;

(ii) The weight of covered electronic products identified for each brand during the sampling or count; and

(iii) The total weight of covered electronic products, including orphan waste if applicable, collected from households and public and private elementary and secondary schools in the state by the manufacturer during the previous calendar year.

(e) A group of manufacturers, except television manufacturers, may choose to implement a manufacturer program as one entity, if in doing so the manufacturers meet the sum of their individual return shares by weight under subsection 23-24.10-12(d) and that sum is at least five percent (5%). A group of television manufacturers may choose to implement a manufacturer program as one entity, if in doing so the manufacturers meet the sum of their individual market shares under subsection 23-24.10-12(d).

(f) By February 1 of each year, a manufacturer that does not meet its share for the previous calendar year shall pay the corporation for the amount not achieved at a rate determined by the department to be equivalent to the amount the manufacturer would have paid as defined under subsection 23-24.10-11(d) plus ten percent (10%) to be paid to the department, and which shall be the per ton fee for the prior year multiplied by the manufacturer's return share as established prior to the start of the program year.

(g) A manufacturer, except a television manufacturer, with less than a five percent (5%) return share is required to participate in the state program under § 23-24.10-11. A television manufacturer that does not have an approved manufacturer's plan shall participate in the state program under § 23-24.10-11.

(h) A manufacturer participating in the state program under § 23-24.10-11 shall notify the department at the time of its registration each year.

(i) By February 1 of each year, a manufacturer that participates in the state program shall pay a recycling fee to the corporation in an amount adopted by the department under § 23-24.10-12 to cover the costs of collecting, transporting and recycling the manufacturer's annual share of covered electronic products for the following year.

(j)(1) A manufacturer program, the state program or a collector participating in a manufacturer program or the state program may not charge a fee to households or public and private elementary and secondary schools for the collection, transportation or recycling of those covered electronic products.

(2) A collector that provides a premium service to a person may charge for the additional cost of providing the premium service.

History of Section.
(P.L. 2008, ch. 105, § 3; P.L. 2008, ch. 126, § 3; P.L. 2010, ch. 122, § 1.)