Committee corrects battery stewardship deadline to 2029 after CDPHE and recycler testimony

The State Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted to advance House Bill 26 12 19, a statutory correction that shifts the required submission date for an assessment of products with embedded batteries so Colorado remains in compliance with Senate Bill 25‑163 (2025).

Wolf (Wolfgang) Cray, materials management unit leader at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, told the committee amendments to the 2025 law altered implementation timelines and left the department with a missed submission deadline. He asked the committee to set a new statutory due date three months after the department completes its assessment, and the bill’s language sets the target date as March 1, 2029.

Ryan Call, policy and campaign specialist for EcoCycle, a Boulder‑based nonprofit recycler, urged the committee to approve the correction and described operational challenges of collecting and processing products with embedded batteries (for example, phones, laptops, electronic toothbrushes and vapes), which differ from standardized loose batteries. Call cited recent collection totals from local drop‑off operations to illustrate the scale of material the stewardship system must address.

Representative Espinosa moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; Representative Bradley seconded, and the chair announced the bill passed on a committee poll. Proponents said the change is an editorial and dates‑alignment fix that preserves the stewardship program’s schedule without altering the program’s scope.

The department and stakeholders said implementing the embedded‑battery assessment will help Colorado expand collection pathways for hard‑to‑recycle products, but they urged the legislature to allow the corrected timeline so the department can deliver required findings.