California: Recycling fees to apply for battery-embedded products from 2026

From 1 January 2026, Californian consumers will begin paying a recycling fee on the sale of new and refurbished covered battery-embedded products (CBEPs) – an open scope of devices containing batteries not designed to be easily removed using common household tools.

California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act (SB 20) currently applies consumer-financed fees to video display devices (VDDs) with screens larger than 4 inches.

SB 1215 (enacted in September 2022) expands the program’s scope to include CBEPs, bringing these devices under the same consumer-financed model beginning 2026.

Retailers, including online sellers, will collect the fees at the point of sale and remit them to California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

CalRecycle will use the funds to reimburse authorised recyclers.

The CBEP recycling fee is set at 1.5% of the retail price, capped at USD 15 (EUR 12.7), and subject to annual adjustment from 1 August 2026.

The Office of Administrative Law will review the rate periodically.

Producers of CBEPs are not subject to EPR/takeback obligations under the e-waste framework. Instead, they are required to:

• label each product with the producer’s name or brand and the battery chemistry from 2026
• notify retailers of products subject to the recycling fee by 1 July annually, and
• report put-on-market data to CalRecycle annually from July 2027

Program interaction with portable battery regime

California now has a dual battery-management framework which divides producer responsibility according to battery removability:

• SB 1215 expands California’s e-waste recycling program to cover devices with embedded batteries not easily removable by end-users (non-removable without proprietary tools)
• AB 2440 establishes a full EPR-based regime for portable batteries (single-use batteries up to 2kg and rechargeable batteries up to 5kg or 300Wh) and embedded batteries, which end-users can easily remove (removable using ‘common household tools’)

Producers should therefore review product design, marketing claims, and user instructions, as small variations – for example, glued-in batteries or restrictive warranty language – may determine whether a product is captured under the e-waste program or the portable battery EPR regime.

Status of rulemaking

Draft implementing regulations for both laws were released over May and July 2025.

Final rules for SB 1215 are expected in late 2025, enabling CBEP fee collection to take effect from 1 January 2026.

Implementation of AB 2440 remains at an earlier stage, with producer operations due to start by April 2027.

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