(1) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, the term:
(a) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Protection.
(b) “Mercury-containing device” means any electrical product, or other device, excluding batteries and lamps, that is determined by the department as proven to release mercury into the environment.
(c) “Reclamation facility” means a site where equipment is used to recapture mercury from mercury-containing devices and lamps for the purpose of recycling the mercury. The term does not include those facilities that process mercury-containing devices and lamps that are manufactured at the facility and that have not been sold or distributed.
(d) “Lamp” means any type of high or low pressure lighting device which contains mercury and generates light through the discharge of electricity either directly or through a fluorescing coating. The term lamp includes, but is not limited to, fluorescent lamps, mercury lamps, metal halide lamps, and high pressure sodium lamps. The term excludes mercury-containing lamps used in residential applications and disposed of as part of ordinary household waste.
(e) “Spent mercury-containing lamp” or “spent lamp” means a lamp for which mercury is required for its operation that has been used and removed from service and that is to be discarded.
(2) PROHIBITION ON INCINERATION OR DISPOSAL OF MERCURY-CONTAINING DEVICES.—Mercury-containing devices may not be disposed of or incinerated in any manner prohibited by this section or by the rules of the department promulgated under this section. If the secretary of the department determines that sufficient recycling capacity exists to recycle mercury-containing devices generated in the state, the secretary may, by rule, designate regions of the state in which a person shall not place such a device that was purchased for use or used by a government agency or an industrial or commercial facility in a mixed solid waste stream. A mercury-containing device shall not knowingly be incinerated or disposed of in a landfill.
(3) PROHIBITION ON INCINERATION OF SPENT LAMPS.—Spent mercury-containing lamps shall not knowingly be incinerated in any municipal or other incinerator. This subsection shall not apply to incinerators that are permitted to operate under state or federal hazardous waste regulations.
(4) WASTE MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT FOR SPENT LAMPS.—
(a) Any person owning or operating an industrial, institutional, or commercial facility in this state or providing outdoor lighting for public places in this state, including streets and highways, that disposes of more than 10 spent lamps per month shall arrange for disposal of such lamps in permitted lined landfills or at appropriately permitted reclamation facilities.
(b) The department may, by rule, designate regions of the state wherein any person owning or operating an industrial, institutional, or commercial facility in such a designated region, or providing lighting for public places in such designated region, including streets and highways, that disposes of more than 10 spent lamps per month shall arrange for disposal of such lamps at appropriately permitted reclamation facilities; provided, however, that before such rule is adopted, the secretary of the department first determines that appropriately permitted reclamation facilities are reasonably available and afford sufficient recycling capacity.
(5) MERCURY RECYCLING PROGRAM FUNDS.—
(a) Moneys received, as provided in this section, shall be deposited into the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund and shall be accounted for separately within the fund, to be used upon appropriation in the following manner:
1. To provide grants to local governments and other public and private entities to develop and operate mercury recycling programs. It is the intent of the Legislature that adequate funding continue to be available for such programs.
2. To fund the research of mercury in the environment by the Governor’s Mercury Task Force.
3. To provide funding for the public service information and other requirements of subsection (7).
4. For administrative costs and other authorized expenses necessary to carry out the responsibilities of this section.
(b) Grants, moneys, or gifts from public or private agencies or entities shall be deposited into the fund and used for activities related to mercury or mercury recycling as specified in paragraph (a).
(6) DEPARTMENT RULES.—The department shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section. Such rules shall:
(a) Provide the criteria and procedures for obtaining a reclamation facility permit, the fee for which may not exceed $2,000 annually.
(b) Set standards for reclamation facilities and associated collection centers and set standards for the storage of mercury-containing devices and spent lamps at collection centers.
(7) PUBLIC SERVICE INFORMATION AND WARNING SIGNS.—As funds become available, the department shall inform the public about the provisions of this section and about the dangers of mercury contamination in game and fish by:
(a) Posting warning signs at contaminated areas and wherever boaters or hunters regularly embark to reach such areas.
(b) Distributing informational materials at tackle shops and other places where fishing and hunting licenses are sold.
(c) Distributing, in primary and secondary schools within the state, informational materials relating to recycling of mercury-containing devices and spent lamps.
(d) Informational materials discussing either the use of mercury in lamps or the provisions of this act concerning reclamation and disposal of spent lamps, including the prohibition on incineration. The materials shall also disclose that the energy efficiency of lamps, compared to other types of lighting, results in reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and other pollutants, including mercury, from fossil-fuel-fired generating facilities and results in benefits recognized by the state in its Green Lights relamping project.
(8) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person who engages in any act or practice declared in this section to be prohibited or unlawful, or who violates any of the rules of the department promulgated under this section, is liable to the state for any damage caused and for civil penalties in accordance with s. 403.141. The provisions of s. 403.161 are not applicable to this section. The penalty may be waived if the person previously has taken appropriate corrective action to remedy the actual damages, if any, caused by the unlawful act or practice or rule violation. A civil penalty so collected shall accrue to the state and shall be deposited as received into the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund for the purposes specified in paragraph (5)(a).
History.—s. 55, ch. 93-207; s. 404, ch. 94-356; s. 2, ch. 97-98; s. 24, ch. 2000-211; s. 33, ch. 2020-158.