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On March 28, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law HB 1185, a lighting EPR bill that extends the existing statewide stewardship program for mercury-containing lights by another 10 years. The bill was sponsored by Representatives David Hackney, Davina Duerr, Liz Berry, Alex Ramel, Joe Fitzgibbon, Beth Doglio, and Gary Pollet.
Washington’s existing mercury-containing lights program, LightRecycle Washington, was enacted in 2010 and established a product stewardship program for the collection, transportation, and recycling of mercury-containing lights. In 2007, PSI initiated a dialogue on fluorescent lighting that resulted in a national action plan on lamp recycling and contributed to the enactment of EPR lighting laws in five states, including Washington.
With the amended law, the current lighting stewardship program, which was scheduled to sunset in 2025, will be extended to January 1, 2035. The law will also ban the sale of most mercury-containing fluorescent lights in the state by 2029. When lights containing hazardous chemicals are placed in the trash, they often break, releasing these substances into the environment. By extending Washington’s stewardship program, HB 1185 will help to increase the recovery of valuable materials, reduce lighting’s environmental and health impacts, and contribute to Washington’s circular economy.
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