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

Universal Citation: 310 MA Code of Regs 310.75

Current through Register 1537, December 20, 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.

(7) Submittal of Plans to the Department.

(a) Plans shall be filed with the Department in accordance with the schedule established in 310 CMR 75.04(1).

(b) Such plans shall be accompanied by the certification required by 310 CMR 75.04(9) and shall comply with the requirements of 310 CMR 70.03: Compliance Certification Requirements.

(8) Recordkeeping Requirements.

(a) Manufacturers subject to 310 CMR 75.00 shall keep records on-site that demonstrate compliance with 310 CMR 75.04, and the supporting information that the manufacturer relied upon to file the plan required by 310 CMR 75.04, and may be required to submit said records upon request of the Department.

(b) Records shall be maintained for at least five years.

(9) Annual Compliance Certification.

(a) Manufacturers subject to 310 CMR 75.04 shall submit a compliance certification annually to the Department. Such certification shall address compliance with the requirements of 310 CMR 75.04 on a form prescribed by the Department that shall include at least the following information:
1. The type and number of each mercury-added product collected in Massachusetts and recycled;

2. The estimated number of each mercury-added product expected to be available for collection in Massachusetts for recycling in the year covered by the certification, which shall be based on a rolling average life expectancy of the product (assuming normal use by the user);

3. The number of mercury-added products the manufacturer sold, offered for sale or distribution in Massachusetts in the year covered by the certification;

4. Calculation of the actual recycling rate;

5. Certification that documentation and records are being maintained as required by 310 CMR 75.04(8);

6. Certification that the plan will continue to be implemented (identifying any changes needed to address operating issues or to ensure that the target capture rate is met) during the coming year; and

7. The certification required by 310 CMR 70.03: Compliance Certification Requirements.

(b) Compliance certifications shall be submitted to the Department by March 31st of each year. The first compliance certification shall cover the period from the commencement of plan implementation through the first full calendar year of implementation.

(c) Information included in a compliance certification may be submitted to the Department with a claim of confidentiality, including a claim that the information is confidential business information, pursuant to 310 CMR 3.00: Access to and Confidentiality of Department Records and Files and/or the state public records act. A completed confidentiality form available from the Department shall be submitted along with the compliance certification wherein the rationale for the confidentiality claim, based on the criteria set out at 310 CMR 3.23: Criteria for Determining a Trade Secret, is described. When confidentiality is requested, the Department will follow standard confidentiality procedures laid out in 310 CMR 3.00. Information included in a compliance certification claimed to be confidential, as well as any documents the Department creates using that information (such as fee invoices), will be separated from the Department's public files and held as confidential until a public records request is made to see that information, whereupon the Department will make a final confidentiality determination pursuant to 310 CMR 3.00

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