California now charges an added fee when consumers buy products with non-removable, built-in batteries, under a new requirement that took effect on Jan. 1.
Under the new California law, all products that contain non-removable batteries are subject to a recycling fee equal to 1.5% of the product’s price, capped at $15. The fee is used for recycling processing and facility management.
As a result, consumers must pay the additional cost at checkout whenever a battery is built into a product, regardless of whether the item is rechargeable.
The fee applies to a wide range of products, including gaming consoles such as the PlayStation, power tools, and even gift cards with embedded batteries.
The measure stems from Senate Bill (SB) 1215, enacted in 2022 and introduced by former state Sen. Josh Newman, whose district included parts of Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County.
The policy significantly expands California’s electronic waste recycling program, which for more than 20 years had applied mainly to computer monitors and televisions. California first introduced an electronic waste recycling fee on TVs and monitors in 2003.
The program was expanded because of fire risks posed by inexpensive lithium-ion batteries, which are now widely used in everyday items such as mobile phones and toys.
Experts said these batteries can create serious fire hazards during recycling or waste-handling processes.
In 2016, a major fire broke out at a recycling facility in San Carlos, San Mateo County, due to lithium-ion batteries. The facility was shut down for four months, and damages reached $8.5 million. After the incident, the facility’s annual insurance premium reportedly surged from $180,000 to $3.2 million.
Doug Kobold, executive director of the California Product Stewardship Council, which supported the bill, said, “Paying a small fee at the register to support proper collection and recycling is far cheaper than preventing millions of dollars in fire damage or steep insurance increases that ultimately get passed on to local communities.”
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
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