Which US states have battery producer responsibility laws?

The United States has no federal battery producer responsibility scheme. Instead there is a growing patchwork of state law, and the states do not agree with each other on what a covered battery is.

California: two regimes split by removability

California runs a dual framework. SB 1215 expands the Electronic Waste Recycling Act to cover battery-embedded products, meaning devices whose battery cannot be easily removed by the user. A point-of-sale recycling fee applied from 1 January 2026, with reporting to CalRecycle from 1 July 2027.

AB 2440, the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, covers portable batteries and embedded batteries an end user can remove with common household tools. It takes full effect on 1 January 2027, and from that date the programme must achieve a minimum recycling efficiency rate of 60 per cent for rechargeable and 70 per cent for primary batteries. Unlike most state schemes, it applies to all chemistries.

The legacy statutes wind down around it: the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006 becomes inoperative on 30 September 2026, and the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004 a year later.

Washington: staged by battery size

Chapter 173-905 WAC took effect on 16 January 2026. Portable batteries come first, with collection and a retail prohibition from 1 July 2027. Medium-format batteries, the 11 to 25 pound band that captures e-bike and scooter packs, follow on 1 January 2029.

Marking runs in two stages: producer brand from 1 January 2028, then chemistry and the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol from 1 January 2030. That second stage aligns Washington with the symbol used under EU rules, which is the only point in this whole patchwork where a US state has deliberately matched Europe.

Illinois: enforcement at the shelf

The Portable and Medium-Format Battery Stewardship Act took effect on 1 January 2026. From 1 July 2026, retailers may not sell covered batteries whose producer is not participating in an approved stewardship programme, and a disposal ban follows on 1 January 2028.

Putting the prohibition on the retailer rather than the producer is the mechanism worth noting. A producer that has not joined a plan loses its route to market rather than simply risking a penalty.

New Jersey: propulsion batteries only

The Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Battery Management Act covers propulsion batteries and expressly exempts starter and industrial batteries. Producers registered by 8 January 2025 and began annual reporting on 8 January 2026. A landfill disposal ban applies from 8 January 2027.

Two obligations are held up. The permanent labelling requirement nominally applies from 1 January 2027, but NJDEP has said it will not require labels until its rules are in place. Management plans are due 180 days after those rules are adopted, and the rules cannot be adopted until a needs assessment is complete. The clock has not started.

Why this matters more than any single state

A producer selling nationally faces four definitions of a covered battery, four sets of marking rules and four reporting regimes, none of which align. California and Illinois cover all chemistries; New Jersey covers only propulsion batteries; Washington excludes wet cell vehicle batteries and lead-acid over 11 pounds.

The EU solved this problem with one regulation applying identically in twenty-seven countries. The United States is solving it one state at a time, and the compliance cost of that difference falls on the manufacturer.

See every other date in the US Battery Compliance Calendar.