Depending on your type of business, you may be required to offer or participate in a take-back program for the items listed below.

background
mandatory
voluntary
disposal bans
retailer index
signage

ALSO SEE:
product stewardship 
take-back laws 

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Background 

Take-back program requirements originate from different extended producer responsibility laws that address how products are handled once they require disposal. In addition to such laws, some retailers and service providers choose to participate in free, manufacturer-funded programs, or have opted to voluntarily collect additional items as a service to their customers. By engaging in programs that manage the end-of-life of their products, businesses provide a valuable customer service, establish their credentials as a green business, and attract additional purchases from customers who drop off materials at their sites. If your organization has a voluntary take-back program, please let us know.

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Mandatory Take-Back Products

The following items have mandatory product stewardship requirements (including signage) for certain retailers and service providers. As an alternative to looking up your responsibilities by type of product, you can look them up according to your type of business using the retailer index below.

auto batteries bottles and cans cell phones electronics motor oil

plastic bags rechargeable batteries sharps tires

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Voluntary Take-Back Products

Businesses may also choose to participate in voluntary take-back programs for the items they sell, have sold, or service. If your business participates in one of these voluntary programs, please let us know. Certain programs also offer examples or complimentary orders of signage for participating businesses. Voluntary take-back programs are common for the following items:

fluorescent bulbs
ink and toner cartridges
mercury thermostats
unwanted medications 

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Disposal Bans

Most of these products are governed by specific disposal regulations and cannot be thrown away in the regular trash.

Items collected from consumers through mandated take-back programs can’t be discarded in the trash. This includes plastic bags, electronics, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, bottles and cans, sharps, auto tires, auto batteries, motor oil, mercury thermostats, fluorescent bulbs, and unwanted medications.

Disposal bans also exist for some of your own waste. Depending on the type of business, certain disposal restrictions apply for the following items: electronics, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, bottles and cans, sharps, auto tires, auto batteries, motor oil, mercury thermostats, fluorescent bulbs, and certain unwanted medications.

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Retailer Index

Below is a list of common types of retailers and service providers. If you fall under one of these categories, or if you are a retailer or service provider that sells, has sold, or provides your customers with the products shown below, please see the corresponding pages for applicable take-back laws and program requirements.   

• Pharmacies and drug stores: plastic bags, rechargeable batteries, unwanted medications, sharps
• Electronic and office supply stores: plastic bags, electronics, cell phones, rechargeable batteries
• Grocers and delis: plastic bags, bottles and cans
• Hardware stores, contractors, and wholesalers: plastic bags, rechargeable batteries, mercury thermostats, fluorescent bulbs
• Auto part retailers and service stations: plastic bags, auto tires, auto batteries, motor oil
• Hospitals and nursing homes: sharps
• All other retailers: review the pages for plastic bags and any other products you sell.

If you are a manufacturer of batteries or electronics, view your obligations under the state take-back laws.

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Signage

Please see samples of signage associated with mandatory and voluntary take-back programs (in certain cases, signs are required and in others they are optional).

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