§ 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.)