CALIFORNIA – As of January 1, 2026, California has begun imposing a new fee on many consumer products with built-in batteries.
The 1.5% surcharge, capped at $15, is part of an expanded effort to reduce fires and improve recycling of electronic waste.
Under Senate Bill 1215, the state amended its longstanding Electronic Waste Recycling Act to include “covered battery-embedded products.” These are devices that contain a battery not designed to be easily removed by the user with common household tools.
Examples of these items include electronics such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, power tools, toys, and other devices with non-removable batteries that can pose hazards when disposed of improperly.
Retailers selling these products in California must now charge a recycling fee at the point of sale for new or refurbished devices.
The new fee is intended to help fund the collection and proper recycling of battery-embedded waste.
Lithium‑ion battery sparked a major fire in California
Officials say the update targets growing concerns about lithium-ion and other batteries in the waste stream. These batteries have been linked to fires at recycling and solid waste facilities.
In 2016, an improperly recycled lithium‑ion battery sparked a major fire at the Shoreway Environmental Center recycling facility in San Carlos, causing about $8.5 million in damage.
The facility was shut down for about four months, and 70 employees were furloughed.
A San Jose recycling company was fined $25,000 for improperly disposing of lithium batteries in 2022. Three garbage trucks caught fire after dozens of lithium-ion batteries were thrown into regular recycling and ignited when crushed during pickup.
California consumers will see the new recycling fee on qualifying products. Labels must indicate the battery type—either on the device or the manufacturer’s website.
April 2026 marks the start for recyclers to get reimbursed for safely recycling embedded-battery products.
For more information, visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/electronics/embeddedbatteries/
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