310 CMR 75.04 - Plans for Collecting and Recycling Mercury-added Products
(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).
(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
Notes
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