Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003: Covered Devices and Fees

California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 is a consumer-funded program that charges a $4 to $6 fee on qualifying electronics at the point of sale, uses that money to pay approved collectors and recyclers so residents can drop off old devices for free, and restricts the hazardous substances allowed in electronics sold in the state. On January 1, 2026, the program expanded under SB 1215 to cover products with sealed-in batteries, making the current version the broadest since the law first passed.¹

What Devices Are Covered

Under Public Resources Code Section 42463, a covered electronic device is a video display device with a screen larger than four inches measured diagonally that the Department of Toxic Substances Control has identified as containing hazardous materials.² In everyday terms, that captures computer monitors, laptops, tablets, televisions (LCD, LED, plasma, and older cathode ray tube sets), and portable DVD players with qualifying screens.

What Is Not Covered

The statute carves out several categories that fall outside the program even when they have screens larger than four inches:

Screens that are part of a motor vehicle, including aftermarket parts assembled by a vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer.
Monitors built into industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, such as hospital patient monitors or factory control panels.
Screens embedded in household appliances, including washers, dryers, refrigerators, microwaves, ovens, dishwashers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and air purifiers.

No recycling fee applies at the register for these items, and the state collection network is not set up to accept them.² If a retailer applies the fee to one of these excluded products, that’s an error worth flagging on the receipt.

The 2026 Expansion to Battery-Embedded Products

The largest change to the Act in years took effect January 1, 2026. SB 1215 added “covered battery-embedded products” to the program: products containing a battery not designed to be easily removed by the user with common household tools.³ Wireless earbuds, e-readers, smartwatches, and similar sealed devices now carry a recycling fee at purchase.

The rollout is staggered. Fee collection from consumers began January 1, 2026. Products must be labeled with the manufacturer’s name and battery chemistry information, either on the product itself or on the manufacturer’s website. CalRecycle began accepting payment claims from collectors and recyclers on April 1, 2026, and starting August 1, 2026, CalRecycle has authority to adjust the fee amount annually.³

Fee Amounts You Pay at Checkout

Anyone who buys or leases a new or refurbished covered electronic device in California pays the recycling fee at the point of sale, and it shows as a separate line item on the receipt.⁴ For video display devices, the current tiers by diagonal screen size are:

$4 for screens larger than 4 inches but smaller than 15 inches.
$5 for screens 15 inches or larger but smaller than 35 inches.
$6 for screens 35 inches or larger.

These amounts have been in place since January 1, 2020, and did not change for 2026.⁵ The statute itself sets higher baseline figures of $6, $8, and $10 for the three tiers, but CalRecycle has kept the working rates lower and can adjust them to reflect actual recycling costs.⁴

A retailer may choose to absorb the fee rather than pass it to the customer. If it does, the receipt must include an express statement to that effect, and the fee becomes the retailer’s debt to the state rather than the consumer’s.⁴ Few retailers do this in practice.

Restricted Hazardous Substances

Separately from the fee, the Act directed DTSC to adopt regulations consistent with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.¹ A covered electronic device cannot be sold in California if the same device would be banned in the EU for exceeding limits on lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium. The rule reaches every link in the retail chain: manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers.⁶ The fee funds proper disposal of hazardous components still permitted in controlled amounts; RoHS keeps the worst offenders out of the market entirely.

Retailer Filing Duties

Retailers and lessors that sell covered electronic devices collect the fee from consumers and remit it to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration using the Electronic Waste Recycling Fee Return, Form CDTFA-501-ER.⁷ The return is due on or before the last day of the month following the reporting period. CDTFA assigns each retailer either a quarterly or yearly filing frequency at registration.⁸

All returns must be filed electronically through the CDTFA online system; paper filing is no longer available.⁷ Retailers with multiple locations file a single return with a Summary by Location Schedule. A return is required for every reporting period, even one with no covered sales. Retailers keep filed returns on the licensed premises for audit purposes, with records separating screen size categories to justify the fees collected.

Penalties

Filing a return or paying the fee late costs 10 percent of the fee due for that reporting period, plus interest that accrues for each month or partial month the payment remains outstanding.⁷ The 10 percent applies even to short delays, so there is no useful grace period.

The consequences for improperly disposing of electronic waste containing hazardous materials are far steeper. Under California Health and Safety Code Section 25189, intentionally disposing of hazardous waste at an unauthorized location carries civil penalties of $1,000 to $70,000 per violation. Each day the waste remains in place counts as a separate violation, so fines compound quickly. Negligent disposal reaches the same $70,000-per-violation maximum. Courts can also order violators to publicly disclose the violation to affected parties.

How to Recycle and Wipe Your Data

California residents can drop off old covered electronic devices at no additional cost through CalRecycle’s network of approved collectors. The fee paid at purchase already funded the system. The CalRecycle eRecycle directory lists nearby collection sites.⁹ Approved collectors must maintain a California location, offer free collection, and comply with DTSC handling rules; approved recyclers must hold DTSC authorization, pass facility inspections, and maintain employee training and environmental compliance plans, and both are subject to unannounced inspections.¹⁰

The Act does not require collectors or recyclers to erase your personal data. That responsibility is yours. Before turning in a laptop, tablet, or anything else with storage, perform a factory reset at minimum. The National Institute of Standards and Technology describes three levels of media sanitization: clearing (overwriting with standard tools), purging (techniques that defeat lab-level recovery), and destroying (physically shredding or incinerating the storage media). A factory reset generally qualifies as clearing, which suits most consumers. For a work device or anything holding financial records, a purge-level wipe or physical destruction of the drive is the safer choice.

1
CalRecycle. Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003
2
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee – Section 42463
3
CalRecycle. SB 1215 Covered Battery-Embedded Products
4
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee – Section 42464
5
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Changes to the Covered Electronic Waste Recycling (eWaste) Fee Return
6
Department of Toxic Substances Control. Restrictions on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in Electronic Devices
7
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Electronic Waste Recycling Fee Return
8
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Covered Battery-Embedded (CBE) Waste Recycling Fee
9
CalRecycle. Electronic Waste Management
10
CalRecycle. E-Waste Recycling Regulations