Amendment #285 to H3400
Providing For Increased Mercury Lamp Recycling
Representatives Speliotis of Danvers, Schmid of Westport, Silvia of Fall River and Parisella of Beverly move to amend the bill by adding the following section:
"Section XXXX. Section 2 of chapter 21H of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010
Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Public body” the following definition:-
“Qualified lamp recycler,” a person who engages in the manual or mechanical separation of spent household mercury-added lamps to recover components and mercury contained therein, and meets the requirements of the commonwealth for handling, transporting and disposal of mercury-added lamps.
SECTION YY. Section 6J of said chapter 21H, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsections (d) and (e) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 subsections:-
(d) (1) A manufacturer of mercury-added lamps shall satisfy the requirements of this section if such manufacturer who sells mercury-added lamps in the commonwealth individually pays a registration fee annually until June 30, 2022, not to exceed $8,000 per year, into an expendable trust, under section 6 of chapter 6A and any applicable regulations, for the limited purpose of documented department and municipal administration, access, communication, enforcement and education costs for proper mercury-added lamp disposal.
(2) A person who sells fluorescent lamps at retail for residential or commercial customers may post the following notice in 24-point type or larger and in a manner clearly visible to a consumer examining fluorescent lamps offered for sale: "Fluorescent bulbs save energy and reduce environmental pollution. Note: Fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and must be properly recycled at the end of their use. Contact your municipality or www.lamprecycle.org for bulb recycling options." A retailer may include additional language in the notice in order to promote the sale or in-store recycling of fluorescent lamps, provided that the notice language set forth in this subsection is present. A manufacturer, individually or collectively, must provide a printed copy of that notice, free of charge, at the request of any retailer of mercury-added lamps for its retail establishment in the commonwealth.
(e) (1) An inspector, as defined by section 1 of chapter 143, may enforce subsection
(a) of section 6I. A municipality may, under its authority in section 94 of said chapter 143, institute additional fines and penalties for violations of said subsection (a) of said section 6I. Any municipal employee enforcing this section must refer cases to and cooperate with district attorneys, the attorney general and other state law enforcement officials to enforce said subsection (a) of said section 6I.
(2) (a) A qualified mercury-added lamp recycler engaged in the collection and recycling of mercury-added lamps shall issue a certificate of mercury lamp recycling to all customers upon collection. Customers must keep these certificates on file for not less than 36 months and provide access to the department upon request.
(b) A qualified mercury-added lamp recycler shall annually provide information regarding the recycling of lamps by any person in the commonwealth as is requested by the department. The department may establish by rule the information that qualified mercury-added lamp recyclers shall provide.
SECTION ZZ. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the regulations adopted by the department of environmental protection to implement subsections (d) and (e) of section 6J of chapter 21H of the General Laws prior to the effective date of this act are hereby repealed, and all prior and future obligations of manufacturers under those regulations and under subsections (d) and (e) of said section 6J of said chapter 21H prior to the effective date of this act are terminated and not enforceable."