California SB 1215 is a state law that expands California’s Electronic Waste (CEW) Recycling Act to cover products with embedded batteries that now require a recycling fee. Covered battery embedded products are now added to the (CEW) Recycling Program, so devices with batteries that cannot be removed are now regulated.
What This Means
Consumers will pay a “covered battery embedded waste recycling fee” at the point of sale on new or refurbished covered products sold in California.
What Counts as a Covered Battery Embedded Product
A covered product contains a non removable battery. Exclusions include:
- Video display devices already covered under other e waste rules
- Certain medical devices
- Large energy storage systems
- E cigarettes
These exclusions come directly from CalRecycle guidance.
Key Dates
July 1, 2025:
Manufacturers must determine exemptions and send an annual product list to California retailers and CalRecycleManufacturers must determine exemptions and send an annual product list to California retailers and CalRecycle.
October 1, 2025:
CalRecycle sets the annual recycling fee for covered battery embedded products.
January 1, 2026:
California consumers begin paying the fee at checkout
Fees
Any item with an embedded battery requires a fee when shipped to California. The fee must:
- Be collected at checkout
- Display clearly for the customer
- Tie directly to the products that qualify
Technical Requirements in Shopify
A simple implementation pattern:
- Create a product metafield such as embedded_battery_included at the variant level.
- At checkout, detect two conditions; the metafield is populated and the shipping address is in California.
- Apply the correct fee logic.
If your fee is created as a non inventory item and bundled with the qualifying product, it should be removed automatically if the product is removed from the cart or the shipping address changes to a non California destination.
You can also add an informational message in checkout, for example:
“Please note that per California regulation SB1215 a 1.5 percent fee has been added to items in your order that contain embedded batteries.”
Considerations for Other States
Only California has implemented this fee so far, but more states may add similar e waste rules. Build your fee logic in a way that allows easy updates per state and per fee amount. This ensures future compliance without needing to rebuild your entire setup.
