Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hb 4144 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Witnesses, local governments and industry back HB 4,144 to curb battery fires and fund statewide collection
Summary
Witnesses from Metro, counties, recyclers, and industry told the House committee that HB 4,144's producer-funded stewardship program would reduce battery fires, protect workers and infrastructure, and create convenient collection; some recyclers asked amendments to include existing private recyclers in the implementation framework.
The committee heard a broad panel of testimony on House Bill 4,144, a proposed battery extended producer responsibility (EPR) law that would require covered producers to participate in a battery producer responsibility organization and implement statewide free and convenient battery collection.
Representative Dacia Graber (House District 28), sponsor of HB 4,144, described firefighter experience with increasing lithium-ion battery fires and urged passage to keep hazardous batteries out of homes, trucks and facilities. Tom Eggleston of Metro said waste-composition data show roughly 1,400,000 pounds of batteries disposed annually in the Metro region and that Metro experienced 61 fires at two transfer stations last year; he described rising insurance costs and worker-safety risks.
Industry and service providers largely supported the bill's premise but offered recommended fixes: Mark Bulisch (executive director, PRBA) said PRBA supports the bill and its model-based approach while noting the bill provides a mechanism to pursue bad actors; Angie Marzano (Lane County) and Trent Carpenter (Southern Oregon Sanitation) described repeated landfill and truck fires and urged adoption. Redwood Materials (Ashley Seward) said it supports the bill's goals but must oppose the bill as written because the current text does not account for existing private recyclers; Redwood asked amendments to allow equitable collective operation by multiple stewardship organizations and explicit recognition of independent collection outside stewardship programs.
Dan Blue (Recology) urged a yes vote and emphasized the scale of incidents and the need to prevent injuries and protect infrastructure. Witnesses and staff confirmed the bill excludes certain categories (battery energy storage systems, many lead-acid batteries, and certain medical devices) and that the bill requires DEQ to compile studies and report back with recommendations in 2028 on embedded battery-containing products.
Chair Lively closed the public hearing on HB 4,144 and carried other bills to later sessions.
