AN ACT relating to battery stewardship.
SB49 creates Kentucky’s Covered Battery Stewardship Program and establishes new rules for the disposal, collection, and recovery of certain batteries. The bill defines covered batteries and battery-containing products, with exclusions for items such as motor vehicle batteries, certain medical-device batteries, and batteries that are not easily removable. It prohibits placing covered batteries in curbside, commercial front-load, or roll-off containers used for solid waste disposal or recycling.
The bill directs the Energy and Environment Cabinet to stand up the stewardship program by March 31, 2027. The cabinet must educate the public, encourage voluntary battery stewardship organizations, oversee a voluntary take-back system for rechargeable covered batteries, study whether embedded batteries can be included, and maintain a public website listing collection sites and transporters. It also sets out registration and plan-approval requirements for stewardship organizations, including retailer labeling, manufacturer marking, consumer education, safety procedures for collection sites, recordkeeping, and a funding method that cannot add a point-of-sale fee to consumers. Annual reporting is required on collection, recovery, disposal, and outreach activities.
SB49 amends Kentucky law in KRS Chapter 224 by adding a new battery stewardship framework that affects manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, recyclers, waste collectors, municipalities, counties, and waste management districts. It creates a statewide prohibition on disposing of covered batteries in common waste and recycling containers and gives the cabinet oversight authority over a voluntary take-back and recovery system. The bill is intended to reduce fire and equipment damage risks at waste facilities while increasing battery collection and recycling infrastructure.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition in the available record. It passed the Senate unanimously, passed the House on veto override with overwhelming support, and then passed the Senate again unanimously, indicating strong legislative consensus. The absence of committee transcript discussion suggests no major recorded controversy in the provided materials.
The main policy issues embedded in the bill are how to fund the stewardship program, how burdensome the labeling and reporting requirements will be for battery producers and retailers, and whether the voluntary model will be sufficient to achieve collection and recovery goals. Another possible point of concern is the exclusion and future study of embedded batteries, which may leave some products outside the initial program. However, the voting record shows no significant opposition, so any contention appears limited or unresolved in the provided materials.