Colorado requires safe handling and recycling of electric vehicle batteries

Propulsion battery providers must register, pay required program fees, and collect eligible unwanted batteries. A provider is generally the first person to sell or distribute a propulsion battery or a vehicle containing one in Colorado. If there is no such person, the law identifies the brand owner or importer; vehicle dealers and used-vehicle sellers are excluded. Providers responsible for one-fifth of one percent or less of registered propulsion-battery vehicles do not owe the program initiation fee. Providers are not responsible for collecting batteries that have been remanufactured or repurposed, taken apart into modules or cells, or are in a vehicle or product directly owned or controlled by an insurance company, subject to stated contract exceptions. Providers must register by July 1, 2027. Required start-up fees are paid in three installments on July 1 of 2027, 2028, and 2029; annual fees begin by July 1, 2030. After notice, providers generally must collect within 60 days, or within 30 days when notified by a solid waste disposal site or facility.

Secondary handlers must manage propulsion batteries responsibly, keep certain records, and notify a provider or remanufacturer when a battery is unwanted. These duties cover commercial secondary handlers that take possession of or remove propulsion batteries. Batteries in vehicles originally sold in Colorado are outside this part of the law when the vehicles are retired outside the state. Solid waste disposal sites and facilities are exempt from certain handler recordkeeping, battery condition and charge reporting, storage, and training duties. A person not otherwise listed must still arrange responsible battery management by working with a handler, provider, remanufacturer, repurposer, or recycler. These handler duties and the ban on disposing of propulsion batteries at solid waste disposal sites and facilities apply on and after July 1, 2029.

Providers must provide battery and handling information; remanufacturers and repurposers have labeling, collection, and reporting duties; recyclers must meet mineral recovery targets. These provisions cover propulsion battery providers, remanufacturers, repurposers, and battery recycling facilities. Recycling targets apply to recovery of lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Providers may use a QR code linked to a data website for label information. Their public websites or equivalent means must be available in English and Spanish. Recyclers' targets are facility-level yearly averages calculated using a mass-balance method. Public reports must be aggregated so individual businesses are not identified, and marked proprietary information remains confidential. Providers must submit an education and outreach plan by January 2, 2029. Labeling and related duties generally apply on and after July 1, 2029. Recyclers must meet recovery targets by 2031 and higher lithium targets by 2035.