AB998 - Household hazardous waste: vape pens.

Amended IN Senate July 17, 2025 Amended IN Assembly May 23, 2025 Amended IN Assembly April 10, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 998 Introduced by Assembly Member Hadwick February 20, 2025 An act to amend Sections 25160.8, 25217, 25217.2, 25218.1, 25218.5, 25218.8, 25218.8 and 25218.12 of of, and to add and repeal Section 25218.6 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous waste. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 998, as amended, Hadwick. Household hazardous waste: vape pens. Under existing law, the Department of Toxic Substances Control generally regulates the management and handling of hazardous waste and hazardous materials. Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, under permits issued by the department. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the transport of hazardous waste to a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste transported not exceed certain volume and weight requirements and that the hazardous waste be transported in closed containers. Existing law defines “household hazardous waste” to mean hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence, and to not include waste generated in the course of operating a business concern at a residence. Under this bill, a vape pen confiscated by a school as contraband is presumed to have been generated by a household and does not lose its status as household hazardous waste when properly managed and disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection facility or through a household hazardous waste collection program. The bill would impose the above-described conditions relating to the transport of hazardous waste on a school, as defined, or its contractor, transporting confiscated vape pens to a household hazardous waste collection facility. This bill would, until January 1, 2029, require the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would authorize a household hazardous waste collection facility to conduct physical treatment activities involving the disassembly of household hazardous waste to separate batteries, valves, electronic components and other parts containing liquids or gases, including, but not limited to, the disassembly of vape pens, in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials. The bill would make related conforming changes. Existing law authorizes a public agency, or its contractor, to conduct a materials exchange program at a household hazardous waste collection facility to make reusable household hazardous products or materials available to recipients, as a part of its household hazardous waste collection program, if the public agency, or its contractor, complies with specified requirements. The bill would prohibit a public agency, or its contractor, from including vape pens in a materials exchange program. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 25160.8 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 25160.8. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program” or “household hazardous waste residential pickup service” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 25218.1. (2) “Household hazardous waste” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 25218.1. (3) “Public agency” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 25218.1. (4) “Registered hazardous waste transporter” or “transporter” means a person who holds a valid registration issued by the department pursuant to Section 25163. (5) “VSQG wastes” means hazardous waste generated by a very small quantity generator, as defined in Section 25218.1. (b) In lieu of the requirements imposed upon a generator pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25160 and the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to Section 25161, a registered hazardous waste transporter operating a door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service may use the manifesting procedure specified in subdivision (c) if the transporter complies with the requirements of subdivisions (d) and (e). (c) A registered hazardous waste transporter operating a door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service shall comply with all of the following manifesting procedures when transporting household hazardous waste: (1) A separate manifest shall be completed by each vehicle driver with respect to each transport vehicle operated by that driver for each date. (2) The transporter shall complete both the generator’s section and the transporter’s section of the manifest in the following manner: (A) In completing the generator’s section of the manifest, the transporter shall use the name, identification number, address, and telephone number of the public agency operating the door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program. (B) In completing the transporter’s section of the manifest, the transporter shall use the transporter’s own name, identification number, terminal address, and telephone number. (C) The generator’s and transporter’s sections shall be completed before commencing each day’s collection. The driver may sign for the generator. (3) (A) The transporter shall attach legible receipts to the front of the manifest for each quantity of household hazardous waste that is received from a household. The receipts shall be used to determine the total volume of household hazardous waste in the vehicle. (B) After the household hazardous waste is delivered, the receipts shall be maintained with the transporter’s copy of the manifest. (C) The transporter shall provide a copy of the manifest to the public agency authorizing the door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program. (D) A public agency shall retain each manifest submitted pursuant to this paragraph for at least three years. The public agency shall also retain the manifest during the course of any unresolved enforcement action regarding a regulated activity or as requested by the department or a certified unified program agency. (4) Each receipt specified in paragraph (3) shall have the residential address from which the household hazardous waste was received, the date received, the manifest number, the volume or quantity of household hazardous waste received, the type of household hazardous waste received, the public agency name and phone number, and the driver’s signature. (5) The transporter shall enter the total volume or quantity of each type of household hazardous waste transported on the manifest at the change of each date, change of driver, or change of transport vehicle. The total volume or quantity shall be the cumulative amount of each type of household hazardous waste collected from the generators listed on the individual receipts. (6) The transporter shall submit a generator copy of the manifest to the department within 30 days of each shipment. (7) The transporter shall retain a copy of the manifest and all receipts for each manifest at a location within the state for three years. This transporter shall also retain the manifest during the course of any unresolved enforcement action regarding a regulated activity or as requested by the department or a certified unified program agency. (8) (A) The transporter shall submit all copies of the manifest to the designated facility. (B) A representative of the designated hazardous waste facility that receives the household hazardous waste shall sign and date the manifest, return two copies to the transporter, retain one copy, and send the original to the department within 30 days of receipt. (9) A transporter shall comply with all other requirements of Sections 25160 and 25161, unless expressly exempted pursuant to this section. (d) A registered hazardous waste transporter operating a door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service shall comply with all of the following requirements: (1) A separate manifest shall be initiated for each jurisdiction, such as from each city or each county, from which household hazardous waste is collected, using the identification number of the public agency operating the door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program in that jurisdiction. (2) (A) Only used oil, latex paint, and antifreeze that are household hazardous wastes that are collected from individual residents may be separately bulked on the vehicle, if the original containers are appropriately managed. (B) A transporter collecting household hazardous wastes from multiple jurisdictions may consolidate those wastes at the time they are collected only if there is a written agreement among all of the jurisdictions and the transporter that wastes from multiple jurisdictions may be consolidated. (3) The transporter operating the door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service shall not collect VSQG wastes or mix household hazardous waste with VSQG wastes in the same vehicle or at the same time as conducting the residential door-to-door household hazardous waste collection or household hazardous waste residential pickup service. (4) (A) The transporter shall conduct all door-to-door or residential pickup operations to minimize potential harm to the public, operators, haulers, and the environment. (B) All associated collection personnel, contractors, and emergency response personnel who will be handling the hazardous waste shall use all required personal protective and safety equipment during operating hours, as specified in Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. (C) The transporter shall allow only those persons trained in hazardous waste management, including personnel loading or unloading waste from transport vehicles, to handle the household hazardous waste. (D) The transporter shall make available, upon request, to local, state, or federal agencies, the job titles, job descriptions, and personnel training records maintained for each person handling hazardous waste, in the same manner as a hazardous waste facility operator, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 66264.16 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. (e) (1) A transporter operating a door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service using the manifesting procedure specified in this section shall submit quarterly reports to the department 30 days after the end of each quarter. The transporter shall submit the first quarterly report on October 31, 2012, covering the July to September 2012 period, and the transporter shall submit a report every three months thereafter. Except as otherwise specified in paragraph (2), the quarterly report shall be submitted in an electronic format provided by the department. (2) A transporter that uses the manifesting procedure specified in this section for less than 1,000 tons per calendar year may apply to the department to continue submitting paper format reports. (3) For each transporter’s name, terminal address, and identification number, the quarterly report shall include the following information for each generator for each manifest: (A) The name of the public agency authorizing the door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service for each manifest. (B) The date of the shipment. (C) The manifest number. (D) The volume or quantity of each waste stream received, its California and RCRA waste code, and the waste stream category listed. (4) The department shall make all of the information in the quarterly reports submitted pursuant to this subdivision available to the public through its usual means of disclosure. SEC. 2. Section 25217 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 25217. For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “Consolidation location” means a location to which recyclable latex paint or oil-based paint initially collected at a collection location is transported. (b) “Oil-based paint” means a paint that contains drying oil, oil varnish, or oil-modified resin as the basic vehicle ingredient. (c) “Paint” includes both oil-based paint and recyclable latex paint that is collected in accordance with this article. (d) “Recyclable latex paint” means any water-based latex paint, still in liquid form, that is transferred for purposes of being recycled. (e) “VSQG” means a very small quantity generator, as specified in Section 25218.1. SEC. 3. Section 25217.2 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 25217.2. (a) Recyclable latex paint may be accepted at any location, including, but not limited to, a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility in accordance with subdivision (b), if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The location manages the recyclable latex paint in accordance with all applicable latex paint product management procedures specified by federal, state, or local law or regulation that include, at a minimum, that the recyclable latex paint is stored and handled in a manner that minimizes the chance of exposing the handler and the environment to potentially hazardous constituents that may be in, or have been incidentally added to, the recyclable latex paint. (2) The recyclable latex paint is still in liquid form and is in its original packaging or is in a closed container that is clearly labeled. (3) Any latex paint that is accepted as recyclable by the location and that is later discovered to be nonrecyclable shall be deemed to be a waste generated at the location where the discovery is made and the latex paint shall be managed as a waste in accordance with this chapter. (4) If the recyclable latex paint is not excluded or exempted [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]