§ 7183. Collection plans

(a) Collection plan required. Prior to July 1, 2025, any stewardship organization registered with the Secretary as representing manufacturers of covered household hazardous products shall coordinate and submit to the Secretary for review one collection plan for all manufacturers.

(b) Collection plan; minimum requirements. Each collection plan shall include, at a minimum, all of the following requirements:

(1) List of participants. A list of the manufacturers, brands, and products participating in the collection plan and a methodology for adding and removing manufacturers and notifying the Agency of new participants.

(2) Free statewide collection of covered household hazardous products. The collection program shall provide for free, convenient, and accessible statewide opportunities for the collection from covered entities of covered household hazardous products, including orphan covered products. A stewardship organization shall accept all covered household hazardous products collected from a covered entity and shall not refuse the collection of a covered household hazardous product, including orphan covered household products, based on the brand or manufacturer of the covered household hazardous product unless specifically exempt from this requirement. The collection program shall also provide for the payment of collection, processing, and end-of-life management of the covered household hazardous products. Collection costs include facility costs, equipment costs, labor, supplies, maintenance, events costs, and event contractor costs, including collection event set-up fees, environmental service fees, insurance fees, and shipping containers and materials.

(3) Convenient collection location. The stewardship organization shall develop a collection program that allows all municipal household hazardous waste collection programs to opt to be a part of the collection plan, including collection events and facilities offered by solid waste planning entities. The plan shall make efforts to site points of collection equitably across all regions of the State to allow for convenient and reasonable access of all Vermonters to collection facilities or collection events.

(4) Public education and outreach. The collection plan shall include an education and outreach program that shall include a website and may include media advertising, retail displays, articles and publications, and other public educational efforts. Outreach and education shall be suitable for the State’s diverse ethnic populations, through translated and culturally appropriate materials, including in-language and targeted outreach. Public education and outreach should include content to increase meaningful participation by environmental justice focus populations as required by 3 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 72. During the first year of program implementation and two years after adoption of the collection plan, each stewardship organization shall carry out a survey of public awareness regarding the requirements of the program established under this chapter that can identify communities that have disparities in awareness and need more outreach. Each stewardship organization shall share the results of the public awareness surveys with the Secretary. If multiple stewardship organizations are implementing plans approved by the Secretary, the stewardship organizations shall coordinate in carrying out their education and outreach responsibilities under this subdivision and shall include in their annual reports to the Secretary a summary of their coordinated education and outreach efforts. The education and outreach program and website shall notify the public of the following:

(A) that there is a free collection program for covered household hazardous products;

(B) the location and hours of operation of collection points and how a covered entity can access this collection program;

(C) the special handling considerations associated with covered household hazardous products; and

(D) source reduction information for consumers to reduce leftover covered household products.

(5) Compliance with appropriate environmental standards. In implementing a collection plan, a stewardship organization shall comply with all applicable laws related to the collection, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste. A stewardship organization shall comply with any special handling or disposal standards established by the Secretary for covered household hazardous products or for the collection plan of the manufacturer.

(6) Method of disposition. The collection plan shall describe how covered household hazardous products will be managed in the most environmentally and economically sound manner, including following the waste-management hierarchy. The management of covered household hazardous products under the collection plan shall use management activities in the following priority order: source reduction, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, and disposal. Collected covered household hazardous products shall be recycled when technically and economically feasible.

(7) Performance goals. A collection plan shall include:

(A) A performance goal for covered household hazardous products determined by the number of total participants at collection events and facilities listed in the collection plan during a program year divided by the total number of households. The number of households shall include seasonal households. The calculation methodology for the number of households shall be included in the plan.

(B) At a minimum, the collection performance goal for the first approved plan shall be an annual participation rate of five percent of the households for every collection program based on the number of households the collection program serves. After the initial approved program plan, the stewardship organization shall propose performance goals for subsequent program plans. The Secretary shall approve the performance goals for the plan at least every five years. The stewardship organization shall use the results of the most recent waste composition study required under 6604 of this title and other relevant factors to propose the performance goals of the collection plan. If a stewardship organization does not meet its performance goals, the Secretary may require the stewardship organization to revise the collection plan to provide for one or more of the following: additional public education and outreach, additional collection events, or additional hours of operation for collection sites. A stewardship organization is not authorized to reduce or cease collection, education and outreach, or other activities implemented under an approved plan on the basis of achievement of program performance goals.

(8) Collection plan funding. The collection plan shall describe how the stewardship organization will fund the implementation of the collection plan and collection activities under the plan, including the costs for education and outreach, collection, processing, and end-of-life management of the covered household hazardous product. Collection costs include facility costs, equipment costs, labor, supplies, maintenance, events costs, and event contractor costs, including collection event set-up fees, environmental service fees, insurance fees, and shipping containers and materials. The collection plan shall include how municipalities will be compensated for all costs attributed to collection of covered household hazardous products. The Secretary shall resolve disputes relating to compensation.

(c) Term of collection plan. A collection plan approved by the Secretary under section 7187 of this title shall have a term not to exceed five years, provided that the stewardship organization remains in compliance with the requirements of this chapter and the terms of the approved collection plan.

(d) Collection plan implementation. Stewardship organizations shall implement the collection plan on or before six months after the date of a final decision by the Secretary on the adequacy of the collection plan. (Added 2023, No. 58, § 2, eff. June 12, 2023.)