WAC 173-905-500

(1) Each battery stewardship organization must allow any person to discard each chemistry and brand of covered battery at each collection site identified in the stewardship plan, except that medium format batteries and damaged and defective batteries may only be collected at sites with staff who are properly trained to handle those batteries.

(2) Convenience standards - Portable battery collections. Each battery stewardship organization shall provide statewide portable battery collection opportunities that include, but are not limited to, the provision of:

(a) At least one permanent collection site within a 15 mile radius for at least 95 percent of Washington residents;

(b) The establishment of collection sites that are accessible and convenient to overburdened communities identified by the department in an amount that is roughly proportional to the number and population of overburdened communities relative to the population or size of the state as a whole;

(c) In addition to the requirements of (a) of this subsection, one permanent collection site for every 30,000 residents of each urban area in this state;

(d) Collection events in areas without a permanent collection site, including service to island and geographically isolated communities; and

(e) Collection opportunities at special locations where batteries are often spent and replaced such as campgrounds, parks with stores, fire stations, homeless shelters, donation centers, schools, and solid waste facilities.

(3) Convenience standards - Medium format battery collections. Each battery stewardship organization shall provide statewide medium format battery collection opportunities that include, but are not limited to, the provision of:

(a) At least 25 permanent collection sites in Washington;

(b) Reasonable geographic dispersion of collection sites throughout the state;

(c) A collection site in each county of at least 200,000 persons, as determined by the most recent population estimate of the office of financial management;

(d) The establishment of collection sites that are accessible to public transit and that are convenient to overburdened communities identified by the department; and

(e) Collection events in areas without a permanent collection site, including service to island and geographically isolated communities. A battery stewardship organization shall ensure that there is a collection site or annual collection event in each county of the state.

(4) Use existing collection services and facilities. Battery stewardship programs shall use existing public and private waste collection services and facilities, including battery collection sites that are established through other battery collection services, transporters, consolidators, processors, and retailers, where cost-effective, mutually agreeable, and otherwise practicable.

(5) Use qualifying entities as collection sites. Battery stewardship programs shall, upon request of an entity that meets the criteria for collection sites in the approved plan, use that entity as a collection site.

(6) Collection events. Battery stewardship organizations shall provide collection events at least once per year in each county without a permanent collection site.

(a) Battery stewardship programs shall hold collection events at the location of any entity that requests to participate if the entity meets criteria specified in the approved plan.

(i) All costs associated with a collection event initiated in this manner are the sole responsibility of the requesting entity unless otherwise agreed to by a battery stewardship organization.

(ii) A battery stewardship organization and the requesting entity must agree to terms for the collection event at least 60 days before the event is to take place.

(b) All collection events must be staffed to accept any covered battery for collection, including damaged and defective batteries.

(c) Batteries collected during collection events may be stored on-site for no more than 48 hours after the event has concluded.

(7) Suspension or termination of a site or service. A battery stewardship organization may suspend or terminate a collection site or service that does not adhere to the collection site criteria in the approved plan or that poses an immediate health and safety concern.

(8) Sites at local government facilities not participating in a battery stewardship program.

(a) A local government facility may collect batteries at its own expense through a collection site or collection event that is not a collection site or event under the program. Using procedures included in an approved battery stewardship plan, a local government facility that collects covered batteries under this subsection shall:

(i) Notify battery stewardship organizations of the local government's decision not to participate in the program;

(ii) Collect all covered batteries at its collection site or sites;

(iii) Collect, sort, package, and transport collected batteries according to the standards established in approved battery stewardship plans;

(iv) Either provide the collected batteries to the battery stewardship organization or transport the batteries directly to a facility that a battery stewardship organization has designated in an approved plan.

(b) A local government facility not participating in the program shall report to a battery stewardship organization the information necessary for the battery stewardship organization to fulfill its reporting obligations under WAC 173-905-150.