42 U.S.C. § 9627: Recycling transactions

Summary

Protects people who arrange for recycling from certain federal cleanup liability if they meet set rules. Recyclable material here means scrap paper, scrap plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, scrap rubber (not whole tires), scrap metal, and spent batteries, plus small amounts of normal residue. To get the protection, the recycler must show it is more likely than not that, at the time of the sale or transfer: the material met a commercial grade; a market existed for it; much of it was offered as feedstock to make a new sellable product; and it could replace or substitute for new raw material. For transactions occurring 90 days or more after November 29, 1999, the person must also have used reasonable care to check that the facility handling the material followed the substantive parts of environmental laws. Reasonable care looks at things like the price paid, the seller’s ability to see what the facility did, and inquiries to environmental agencies. Special rules add that scrap metal must meet the above tests, follow any later metal-recycling rules, and not have been melted before sale. Spent batteries must meet the tests, not have had valuable parts removed, and comply with battery rules. The protection does not apply if the seller reasonably believed the material would not be recycled or would be burned, knew hazardous substances were added for other purposes, or failed to exercise reasonable care. These rules do not change other legal liabilities, do not undo U.S. actions begun before November 29, 1999, and allow the Administrator to make more regulations. If someone sues for contribution against a person who is actually protected, the suer must pay that person’s defense costs.

Title 42, §9627

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Liability clarification

(1)As provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), a person who arranged for recycling of recyclable material shall not be liable under section 9607(a)(3) and 9607(a)(4) of this title with respect to such material.

(2)A determination whether or not any person shall be liable under section 9607(a)(3) of this title or section 9607(a)(4) of this title for any material that is not a recyclable material as that term is used in subsections (b) and (c), (d), or (e) of this section shall be made, without regard to subsections (b), (c), (d), or (e) of this section.

(b)Recyclable material defined

For purposes of this section, the term “recyclable material” means scrap paper, scrap plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, scrap rubber (other than whole tires), scrap metal, or spent lead-acid, spent nickel-cadmium, and other spent batteries, as well as minor amounts of material incident to or adhering to the scrap material as a result of its normal and customary use prior to becoming scrap; except that such term shall not include—

(1)shipping containers of a capacity from 30 liters to 3,000 liters, whether intact or not, having any hazardous substance (but not metal bits and pieces or hazardous substance that form an integral part of the container) contained in or adhering thereto; or

(2)any item of material that contained polychlorinated biphenyls at a concentration in excess of 50 parts per million or any new standard promulgated pursuant to applicable Federal laws.

(c)Transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber

Transactions involving scrap paper, scrap plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, or scrap rubber (other than whole tires) shall be deemed to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged for the transaction (by selling recyclable material or otherwise arranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that all of the following criteria were met at the time of the transaction:

(1)The recyclable material met a commercial specification grade.

(2)A market existed for the recyclable material.

(3)A substantial portion of the recyclable material was made available for use as feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product.

(4)The recyclable material could have been a replacement or substitute for a virgin raw material, or the product to be made from the recyclable material could have been a replacement or substitute for a product made, in whole or in part, from a virgin raw material.

(5)For transactions occurring 90 days or more after November 29, 1999, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the recyclable material was handled, processed, reclaimed, or otherwise managed by another person (hereinafter in this section referred to as a “consuming facility”) was in compliance with substantive (not procedural or administrative) provisions of any Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation, or compliance order or decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, storage, or other management activities associated with recyclable material.

(6)For purposes of this subsection, “reasonable care” shall be determined using criteria that include (but are not limited to)—

(A)the price paid in the recycling transaction;

(B)the ability of the person to detect the nature of the consuming facility’s operations concerning its handling, processing, reclamation, or other management activities associated with recyclable material; and

(C)the result of inquiries made to the appropriate Federal, State, or local environmental agency (or agencies) regarding the consuming facility’s past and current compliance with substantive (not procedural or administrative) provisions of any Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation, or compliance order or decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, storage, or other management activities associated with the recyclable material. For the purposes of this paragraph, a requirement to obtain a permit applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other management activity associated with the recyclable materials shall be deemed to be a substantive provision.

(d)Transactions involving scrap metal

(1)Transactions involving scrap metal shall be deemed to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged for the transaction (by selling recyclable material or otherwise arranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the transaction—

(A)the person met the criteria set forth in subsection (c) with respect to the scrap metal;

(B)the person was in compliance with any applicable regulations or standards regarding the storage, transport, management, or other activities associated with the recycling of scrap metal that the Administrator promulgates under the Solid Waste Disposal Act [42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.] subsequent to November 29, 1999, and with regard to transactions occurring after the effective date of such regulations or standards; and

(C)the person did not melt the scrap metal prior to the transaction.

(2)For purposes of paragraph (1)(C), melting of scrap metal does not include the thermal separation of 2 or more materials due to differences in their melting points (referred to as “sweating”).

(3)For purposes of this subsection, the term “scrap metal” means bits and pieces of metal parts (e.g., bars, turnings, rods, sheets, wire) or metal pieces that may be combined together with bolts or soldering (e.g., radiators, scrap automobiles, railroad box cars), which when worn or superfluous can be recycled, except for scrap metals that the Administrator excludes from this definition by regulation.

(e)Transactions involving batteries

Transactions involving spent lead-acid batteries, spent nickel-cadmium batteries, or other spent batteries shall be deemed to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged for the transaction (by selling recyclable material or otherwise arranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the transaction—

(1)the person met the criteria set forth in subsection (c) with respect to the spent lead-acid batteries, spent nickel-cadmium batteries, or other spent batteries, but the person did not recover the valuable components of such batteries; and

(2)(A)with respect to transactions involving lead-acid batteries, the person was in compliance with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards, and any amendments thereto, regarding the storage, transport, management, or other activities associated with the recycling of spent lead-acid batteries;

(B)with respect to transactions involving nickel-cadmium batteries, Federal environmental regulations or standards are in effect regarding the storage, transport, management, or other activities associated with the recycling of spent nickel-cadmium batteries, and the person was in compliance with applicable regulations or standards or any amendments thereto; or

(C)with respect to transactions involving other spent batteries, Federal environmental regulations or standards are in effect regarding the storage, transport, management, or other activities associated with the recycling of such batteries, and the person was in compliance with applicable regulations or standards or any amendments thereto.

(f)Exclusions

(1)The exemptions set forth in subsections (c), (d), and (e) shall not apply if—

(A)the person had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction—

(i)that the recyclable material would not be recycled;

(ii)that the recyclable material would be burned as fuel, or for energy recovery or incineration; or

(iii)for transactions occurring before 90 days after November 29, 1999, that the consuming facility was not in compliance with a substantive (not procedural or administrative) provision of any Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation, or compliance order or decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other management activities associated with the recyclable material;

(B)the person had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the recyclable material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or

(C)the person failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management and handling of the recyclable material (including adhering to customary industry practices current at the time of the recycling transaction designed to minimize, through source control, contamination of the recyclable material by hazardous substances).

(2)For purposes of this subsection, an objectively reasonable basis for belief shall be determined using criteria that include (but are not limited to) the size of the person’s business, customary industry practices (including customary industry practices current at the time of the recycling transaction designed to minimize, through source control, contamination of the recyclable material by hazardous substances), the price paid in the recycling transaction, and the ability of the person to detect the nature of the consuming facility’s operations concerning its handling, processing, reclamation, or other management activities associated with the recyclable material.

(3)For purposes of this subsection, a requirement to obtain a permit applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other management activities associated with recyclable material shall be deemed to be a substantive provision.

(g)Effect on other liability

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the liability of a person under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 9607(a) of this title.

(h)Regulations

The Administrator has the authority, under section 9615 of this title, to promulgate additional regulations concerning this section.

(i)Effect on pending or concluded actions

The exemptions provided in this section shall not affect any concluded judicial or administrative action or any pending judicial action initiated by the United States prior to November 29, 1999.

(j)Liability for attorney’s fees for certain actions

Any person who commences an action in contribution against a person who is not liable by operation of this section shall be liable to that person for all reasonable costs of defending that action, including all reasonable attorney’s and expert witness fees.

(k)Relationship to liability under other laws

Nothing in this section shall affect—

(1)liability under any other Federal, State, or local statute or regulation promulgated pursuant to any such statute, including any requirements promulgated by the Administrator under the Solid Waste Disposal Act [42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.]; or

(2)the ability of the Administrator to promulgate regulations under any other statute, including the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

(l)Limitation on statutory construction

Nothing in this section shall be construed to—

(1)affect any defenses or liabilities of any person to whom subsection (a)(1) does not apply; or

(2)create any presumption of liability against any person to whom subsection (a)(1) does not apply.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Solid Waste Disposal Act, referred to in subsecs. (d)(1)(B) and (k), is title II of Pub. L. 89–272, Oct. 20, 1965, 79 Stat. 997, as amended generally by Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2795, which is classified generally to chapter 82 (§ 6901 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 6901 of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Superfund Recycling Equity; Purposes Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title VI, § 6001(a)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–598, provided that: “The purposes of this section [enacting this section] are— “(1) to promote the reuse and recycling of scrap material in furtherance of the goals of waste minimization and natural resource conservation while protecting human health and the environment; “(2) to create greater equity in the statutory treatment of recycled versus virgin materials; and “(3) to remove the disincentives and impediments to recycling created as an unintended consequence of the 1980 Superfund liability provisions.”

§9627 Recycling Transactions