Hazardous waste: surplus household consumer products.

Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to develop and implement a public information program to provide uniform and consistent information on the proper disposal of hazardous substances found in and around homes. Existing law provides for regulation of the disposition of hazardous waste by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to convene a Retail Waste Working Group, as prescribed, to consider and make findings and recommendations relating to requirements for the management of surplus household consumer products, waste reduction opportunities for those products, and waste management requirements, as specified. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. This bill would impose certain requirements on a retailer or supplier that transfers or ships a surplus household consumer product, as defined by the bill, to a reverse distributor, as defined. The bill would authorize a reverse distributor to evaluate a surplus household consumer product for reuse, donation, transfer for credit, and other specified purposes. The bill would authorize a reverse distributor to transfer the product for recycling or disposal only after first evaluating the product for the specified purposes. The bill would provide that a surplus household consumer product is not a waste while it is being processed at, stored at, or shipped to a reverse distributor for evaluation, shipped from a reverse distributor, or while it is being shipped, or stored prior to shipment, by a retailer or supplier. The bill would provide that a surplus household consumer product is a waste commencing at the time that it is discarded by the reverse distributor or supplier that last possessed it. The bill would authorize a retailer or distributor that does not transfer or ship a surplus household consumer product to a reverse distributor for evaluation to instead manage that product in accordance with the requirements governing the applicable waste category for that product. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to reconvene the Retail Waste Working Group at a date determined by the Department of Toxic Substances Control for the purpose of evaluating whether the provisions of this bill have resulted in specified outcomes. The bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to provide a report to the Legislature after the Retail Waste Working Group has completed its evaluation. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.