New California fee targets batteries in PlayStations, power tools and singing cards

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With the start of the new year, Californians will pay a new fee every time they buy a product with a nonremovable battery — whether it’s a power tool, a PlayStation or even a singing greeting card.The 1.5% surcharge, capped at $15, expands a recycling program that’s been quietly collecting old computer monitors and TVs for two decades.The change is a result of Senate Bill 1215, its author being former state Sen.

Josh Newman, a Democrat who represented parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.It was signed into law in 2022.Consumers will pay the fee when buying any product with an embedded battery whether it’s rechargeable or not.

Many of these products, experts said, end up in the trash.California pioneered electronic waste fees with computer monitors and TVs in 2003.

The fee worked, keeping hazardous screens out of landfills and building better systems for proper disposal.But over the last 20 years, electronic waste has continued to evolve.Powerful lithium batteries have become cheaper and more accessible as demand for technology has increased.

They now power everyday products as diverse as cellphones, AirPods, power tools and toys.“These things are everywhere.They’re ubiquitous,” said Joe La Mariana, executive director of RethinkWaste, which manages waste services for 12 San Mateo County cities — a co-sponsor of the legislation.They’re also, under some circumstances, a risk.

Under harsh conditions at recycling and waste facilities, lithium-ion batteries can burst into flames and even explode.“Paying a small check‑stand fee to fund proper collection is far cheaper than million‑dollar fires, higher insurance premiums, and rate hikes passed back to communities,” said Doug Kobold, executive director of the California Product Stewardship Council, which co-sponsored the legislation.In 2016, in the San Mateo County city of San Carlos, a lithium-i...