Apportioning the Cost of Household Hazardous Waste Management in Vermont

Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources is busily working to implement a first-in-the-nation household hazardous waste extended producer responsibility law. Although federal law sets requirements for hazardous waste generated at retail locations, it does not regulate products that contain the same hazardous materials when generated at households. That is where Vermont’s law comes into play.

Under the law,¹ manufacturers who sell into Vermont, whether through brick-and-mortar locations or through online sales, must determine whether their products qualify as “covered household hazardous products.” Examples of covered products include fuel additives, cleaning products, glues, paint removers, spray paint, nail polish, nicotine vaping devices and gas cylinders that contain flammable or toxic ingredients. Those manufacturing covered products must participate in a stewardship organization that offers free statewide product collection.²

This new funding framework represents a change from the long-standing state requirement that municipalities bear the costs of collecting household hazardous wastes. While local governments can still operate collection programs under Vermont’s new law, manufacturers will now reimburse them for the costs of collection, including waste transportation and processing costs. 

Deadlines under the law are rapidly approaching. By 25 July 2025, a single stewardship organization must have registered to represent all affected manufacturers and submitted a single collection plan for all covered household hazardous products to the Agency for approval. That same day a landfill disposal ban on covered products will go into effect. After 1 January 2026, manufactures who do not participate in the approved collection plan will be subject to a sales ban.

While the Agency can approve only one stewardship organization for the first collection plan, it can approve multiple stewardship organizations for subsequent plans. That said, at any one time the law allows for only one approved plan that can have term of up to five years. 

To qualify as a stewardship organization, an organization must commit to assuming the responsibilities and liabilities of all participating manufacturers, not create unreasonable barriers for participation, and maintain a public website listing all manufacturers, their brands and products covered by the approved collection plan. The law notably makes stewardship organizations responsible for all covered products, including products made by manufacturers in non-compliance with the law and those made by manufacturers no longer in business.

The Household Product Stewardship Alliance (HPSA) aims to serve as the stewardship organization responsible for the first collection plan. While the Agency has not approved HPSA as a stewardship organization yet, HPSA is proceeding as if it will ultimately be approved as such and has stated that covered entities must register with it by 30 April 2025 to ensure there is ample time to meet the deadline for submitting the first collection plan. HPSA was formed by, and is currently led by, the Household & Commercial Products Association, a trade association for household and commercial product companies.

Given the July 25th deadlines, manufacturers who do not want to be prohibited from selling in Vermont should act early to ensure they are included in the collection plan. Additionally, because manufacturers subject to this law are required to pay fees to cover the costs of the collection program, they should engage proactively to ensure any final fee structure is properly apportioned based on market share or product toxicity. 

Even manufacturers without a sales presence in Vermont would benefit from closely monitoring Vermont’s developing program as other states might very well enact their own household hazardous waste extended producer responsibility laws the coming months and years.

Those interested in discussing this new Vermont state law or other current or proposed extended producer responsibility laws, should contact the authors or another member of our Environment, Land, and Natural Resources practice group.