Vermont § 7183 - Collection plans

§ 7183. Collection plans

• (a) Collection plan required. On or before July 1, 2026, 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. (1) Initial plan. The initial plan shall last for a period not to exceed three years and contain, at
  a minimum, the following requirements: (A) 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. (B) Free statewide collection of covered household hazardous products. The collection program shall reimburse municipalities when a municipality provides
  for free, convenient, and accessible opportunities for the collection from covered
  entities of covered household hazardous products, including orphan covered products.
  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. (C) Collection plan funding. The collection plan shall describe how the stewardship organization will fund the
  implementation of all municipal collection offered to the public in a base program
  year. A base program year shall be based on the services provided in calendar year
  2024 and any other collection facilities or events approved by the Secretary. 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. (2) Subsequent plans. After the expiration of the initial plan approved by the Secretary, the collection
  plan shall include, at a minimum, the following: (A) 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. (B) 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. (C) 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. (D) 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 V.S.A. chapter 72. During the second approved 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
  (D) 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: (i) that there is a free collection program for covered household hazardous products; (ii) the location and hours of operation of collection points and how a covered entity
  can access this collection program; (iii) the special handling considerations associated with covered household hazardous products;
  and (iv) source reduction information for consumers to reduce leftover covered household products. (E) 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. (F) Method of management. 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. (G) Performance goals. A collection plan shall include: (i) 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. (ii) At a minimum, the collection performance goal for the initial plan approved pursuant
  to subdivision (1) of this subsection (b) shall be an annual participation rate of
  seven 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. (H) 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; amended 2025, No. 59, § 9, eff. June 11, 2025.)