H-0317.1
HOUSE BILL 1164
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session
By Representatives Doglio, Fitzgibbon, Reed, Berry, Ramel, Macri,
Lekanoff, Duerr, Pollet, and Kloba
Prefiled 01/06/23. Read first time 01/09/23. Referred to Committee
on Environment & Energy.
1 AN ACT Relating to providing for the responsible management of
2 appliances containing harmful gases and other materials; amending RCW
3 43.21B.110, 43.21B.300, and 70A.65.260; adding a new section to
4 chapter 82.04 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW; and
5 prescribing penalties.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. (1) The legislature
8 finds that Washington has taken numerous steps to reduce emissions of
9 ozone-depleting refrigerants and greenhouse gas refrigerants,
10 including by establishing maximum global warming potentials of new
11 appliances introduced into commerce, and initiating a refrigerant
12 management program to address leaks from equipment in operation.
13 State law also prohibits the intentional venting of refrigerants,
14 including refrigerants contained in appliances that reach the end of
15 their useful life. However, the current regulatory environment
16 notably lacks a mechanism to ensure that refrigerants and greenhouse
17 gases contained in foams in appliances that reach the end of their
18 life are managed appropriately. Unfortunately, a misplaced incentive
19 often currently exists for persons disposing of an unwanted appliance
20 that makes it less costly and easier to dispose of refrigerants
21 contained in an appliance through illegal venting, which is
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 1 functionally challenging to prevent or to take enforcement actions
2 against, rather than through environmentally responsible practices.
3 In addition, the current regulatory environment does not establish
4 incentives or otherwise ensure that greenhouse gas-containing foam in
5 appliances will be managed in an environmentally responsible way.
6 (2) Federal law, through its responsible appliance disposal
7 program, establishes voluntary achievable and environmentally
8 friendly appliance management standards that many people disposing of
9 unwanted appliances already abide by. In conjunction with utility
10 incentive programs that spur the replacement of energy-inefficient
11 old appliances, there already exists the beginnings of the
12 infrastructure needed to more comprehensively manage greenhouse gas-
13 containing appliances at the end of their useful life. One gap to
14 ensuring this environmentally preferable outcome is a consistent
15 funding mechanism to use and expand this appliance collection
16 recycling infrastructure. Other jurisdictions in North America and
17 around the world have addressed this funding gap by establishing
18 stewardship programs for the funding and management of unwanted
19 appliances. Appliance producer responsibility programs offer a
20 significant opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are
21 not currently addressed by the state's other greenhouse gas emissions
22 programs, and do so at a relatively low cost per ton of emissions
23 reductions, and with other environmental benefits from the salvage
24 and recycling of other appliance components.
25 (3) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to establish a
26 responsible appliance disposal extended producer responsibility
27 program.
28 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this
29 section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly
30 requires otherwise.
31 (1) "Appliance stewardship organization" or "stewardship
32 organization" means a producer that directly implements an appliance
33 stewardship plan required under this chapter or a nonprofit
34 organization designated by a producer or group of producers to
35 implement an appliance stewardship plan required under this chapter.
36 (2) "Category" means, with respect to the performance goals and
37 reporting requirements of covered appliances, each of the following:
38 (a) Refrigerating and freezing appliances, designed and intended
39 for residential use, for the conservation or storage of food and
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 1 beverages and other materials including, but not limited to,
2 refrigerators, freezers, refrigerating wine cellars, wine coolers,
3 and water dispensers;
4 (b) Refrigerating and freezing appliances, designed and intended
5 for commercial or institutional use, for the conservation or storage
6 of food or beverages and other materials including, but not limited
7 to, refrigerators, freezers, cooling units, refrigerating wine
8 cellars, wine coolers, refrigerated displays, ice machines, and
9 refrigerated automatic food or beverage vending machines;
10 (c) Air conditioners, heat pumps, and dehumidifiers; and
11 (d) The following appliances designed and intended for
12 residential, commercial, or institutional use: Ranges; built-in
13 ovens; built-in cooking surfaces; dishwashers; washing machines; and
14 dryers.
15 (3)(a) "Covered appliances" means electric or gas appliances that
16 are:
17 (i) Of a type that typically contain more than negligible volumes
18 of refrigerants or insulating foam with a potential to release
19 greenhouse gases at the end of the appliance's useful life;
20 (ii) Designed or intended for residential, commercial, or
21 institutional purposes; and
22 (iii) Used for cooking, the conservation or storage of food or
23 beverages, the washing or drying of dishware, cloth, or clothing, or
24 to control ventilation, the temperature, or humidity in a room or
25 dwelling.
26 (b) "Covered appliances" include, but are not limited to:
27 Refrigerators; freezers; wine cellars and coolers; water dispensers;
28 heat pumps; portable or window air conditioners; dehumidifiers;
29 dishwashers; washing machines; and dryers.
30 (c) "Covered appliances" does not include:
31 (i) Covered appliances of the categories specified in subsection
32 (2)(a), (c), or (d) of this section whose weight is greater than
33 1,000 pounds;
34 (ii) Appliances and air conditioners that form an integral part
35 of a structure to ensure its usefulness or facilitate its use
36 including, but not limited to, ice rink refrigeration systems and
37 central air conditioning systems of commercial or residential
38 multifamily buildings;
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 1 (iii) Mobile air conditioning contained in motor vehicles, rail
2 and trains, aircraft, watercraft, recreational vehicles, recreational
3 trailers, and campers; and
4 (iv) Other appliances identified as infeasible to include in
5 rules adopted by the department.
6 (4) "Department" means the department of ecology.
7 (5) "Final disposition" means the point at which a covered
8 appliance and each of its component parts:
9 (a) Are reused;
10 (b) Are recycled; or
11 (c) Are delivered to a disposal site, as that term is defined in
12 RCW 70A.205.015.
13 (6)(a) "Producer" means with respect to a covered appliance that
14 is sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in or into the
15 state for use in the state:
16 (i) The person that manufactures the covered appliance and sells
17 or offers for sale in or into the state that appliance under the
18 person's own brand;
19 (ii) If there is no person to which (a)(i) of this subsection
20 applies, the owner of a brand under which the covered appliance is
21 sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into the state;
22 (iii) If there is no person to which (a)(i) or (ii) of this
23 subsection applies, the licensee of a brand under which the covered
24 appliance is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into the
25 state;
26 (iv) If there is no person to which (a)(i), (ii), or (iii) of
27 this subsection applies, a person that imports the covered appliance
28 into the United States for sale or distribution into Washington;
29 (v) If there is no person described in (a)(i), (ii), (iii), or
30 (iv) of this subsection over whom the state can constitutionally
31 exercise jurisdiction, the producer is the person who imports or
32 distributes the covered appliance in or into the state; or
33 (vi) A person who notifies the department of the person's
34 election to assume responsibility in lieu of a producer as identified
35 under (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection. In the event the person
36 that assumes responsibility fails to comply with the requirements of
37 this chapter, the producer identified under (a)(i) through (v) of
38 this subsection remains fully responsible for compliance with the
39 requirements of this chapter.
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 1 (b) A retail establishment that sells covered appliances under
2 its own brand, or that otherwise meets the definition of a producer
3 in (a) of this subsection, is a producer for purposes of this
4 chapter.
5 (7) "Program" means a program implemented by an appliance
6 stewardship organization consistent with the requirements of this
7 chapter.
8 (8) "RAD account" means the responsible appliance disposal
9 account created in section 16 of this act.
10 (9) "RAD standards" means the voluntary responsible appliance
11 disposal standards applicable to partners choosing to participate in
12 the United States environmental protection agency's responsible
13 appliance disposal program including, but not limited to, standards
14 that provide for:
15 (a) The proper recovery and reclamation or destruction of
16 refrigerants;
17 (b) The proper recovery and reclamation or destruction of foams;
18 (c) The safe disposal of hazardous waste products including, but
19 not limited to, polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury;
20 (d) The proper recycling of used oil; and
21 (e) To the maximum extent possible, the recycling of all
22 recoverable, durable materials including metal, plastic, and glass.
23 (10) "Regulated refrigerant" has the same meaning as defined in
24 RCW 70A.60.010.
25 (11) "Retail establishment" means a person who sells covered
26 appliances in or into this state or offers or otherwise makes
27 available covered appliances to a customer, including other
28 businesses, for use in this state.
29 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT PRODUCERS IMPLEMENT A
30 PROGRAM. (1) Beginning January 1, 2024, each producer selling covered
31 appliances in or into the state of Washington must register with the
32 department through an appliance stewardship organization.
33 (2)(a) Beginning July 1, 2027, each producer selling covered
34 appliances in or into the state of Washington shall participate in an
35 approved appliance stewardship plan through participation in and
36 appropriate funding of an appliance stewardship organization.
37 (b) A producer that does not participate in an appliance
38 stewardship organization and appliance stewardship plan may not sell
39 covered appliances in or into Washington.
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 1 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. STEWARDSHIP PLAN COMPONENTS. (1) By
2 January 1, 2027, or no less than six months before a plan begins to
3 be implemented, each appliance stewardship organization must submit a
4 plan to the department for review and approval. An appliance
5 stewardship organization may submit a plan at any time to the
6 department for review and approval. The department must review and
7 may approve a plan based on whether it contains and adequately
8 addresses the following components:
9 (a) Lists and provides contact information for each producer and
10 covered appliance brand participating in the plan;
11 (b) Identifies the covered appliance models of each producer
12 participating in the plan;
13 (c) Proposes the implementation mechanisms through which the
14 program expects to achieve the performance goals established in
15 section 5 of this act, and describes the methods used to calculate
16 whether the program is achieving its performance goals;
17 (d) Describes how the appliance stewardship organization will
18 help make retail establishments aware of their obligation to sell
19 only covered appliances of producers participating in an approved
20 plan;
21 (e) Includes a detailed and comprehensive list of promotion
22 activities to be undertaken as part of the educational and outreach
23 program required in section 7 of this act;
24 (f) Describes the mechanisms used for the collection of covered
25 appliances directly or indirectly from consumers, consistent with
26 section 6 of this act, including the financial incentives described
27 in section 8 of this act that are to be paid to persons that furnish
28 covered appliances for collection by the program;
29 (g) Describe how the program will, consistent with RAD standards
30 and other environmental best management practices, manage components
31 of collected appliances including, but not limited to, scrap metal,
32 compressors, glass, foam, plastic, nonferrous metal, oil,
33 refrigerants, batteries, and components potentially containing
34 mercury or polychlorinated biphenyls;
35 (h) Identifies proposed brokers, transporters, processors, and
36 facilities to be used by the program for the recycling and final
37 disposition of covered appliances; and
38 (i) Describes the financing methods to implement the plan,
39 consistent with section 8 of this act, including how producer fees
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 1 and fee modulation will incorporate design for recycling and resource
2 conservation as objectives.
3 (2) If required by the department, an appliance stewardship
4 organization must submit a new plan to the department for approval:
5 (a) When there is a change to the method of financing plan
6 implementation under section 8 of this act;
7 (b) If there are significant changes to the methods of
8 collection, transport, or end-of-life management of covered
9 appliances under section 6 of this act that are not covered by the
10 plan. The department may, by rule, identify the types of significant
11 changes that require a new plan to be submitted to the department for
12 approval;
13 (c) No less than every five years; and
14 (d) Consistent with subsection (4) of this section.
15 (3) If required by the department, an appliance stewardship
16 organization must provide plan amendments to the department for
17 approval:
18 (a) After a producer begins or ceases to participate in an
19 appliance stewardship organization, as part of a quarterly update
20 submitted to the department that also includes a current
21 identification of the producers and brands participating in the plan
22 and their covered appliance models; or
23 (b) When adding or removing a processor or transporter, as part
24 of a quarterly update submitted to the department.
25 (4) No earlier than five years after the initial approval of a
26 plan, the department may require an appliance stewardship
27 organization to submit a revised plan, which may include improvements
28 to the collection mechanisms used by the plan, the amount of the
29 incentive payments made by the stewardship organization to persons
30 who furnish unwanted covered appliances, or increased expenditures
31 dedicated to education and outreach, if the approved plan does not
32 meet the performance goals under section 5 of this act.
33 (5) As a supplement or component of all new or updated plans
34 under this chapter submitted by an appliance stewardship
35 organization, the stewardship organization must submit a contingency
36 plan demonstrating how the activities in the plan will continue to be
37 carried out by some other entity, if needed, such as an escrow
38 company:
39 (a) Until such time as a new plan is submitted and approved by
40 the department;
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1 (b) Upon the expiration of an approved plan;
2 (c) In the event that the stewardship organization has been
3 notified by the department that they must transfer implementation
4 responsibility for the program to a different stewardship
5 organization;
6 (d) In the event that the stewardship organization notifies the
7 department that it will cease to implement an approved plan; or
8 (e) In any other event that the stewardship organization can no
9 longer carry out plan implementation.
10 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. PERFORMANCE GOALS. (1) The stewardship
11 organization must achieve the following recovery rates, comparing
12 covered appliances collected and managed by the program relative to
13 the number of covered appliances sold in or into Washington, by
14 category of covered appliance:
15 (a) For the covered product categories specified in section
16 2(2)(a) of this act: 75 percent in 2027; 80 percent in 2028; 85
17 percent in 2029; and 90 percent beginning in 2030 and each year
18 thereafter;
19 (b) For the covered product categories specified in section
20 2(2)