What Is SB-20? California's E-Waste Recycling Law Explained

SB-20, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, is California's primary law governing the collection, processing, and reporting of covered electronic waste (CEW). If you operate as an e-waste collector or recycler in California, SB-20 compliance determines whether you get paid, keep your CalRecycle approval, and avoid enforcement actions.

What devices does SB-20 cover?

SB-20 applies to "covered electronic devices" (CEDs) — primarily screens and monitors that contain hazardous materials like lead, mercury, and cadmium. The current covered device categories include:

• CRT monitors and televisions
• Flat-panel displays — LCD, plasma, and OLED
• Laptop computers with integrated screens
• Portable DVD players
• Any video display device with a screen greater than four inches (measured diagonally)
• Covered battery-embedded products (CBEP) — added to the program by SB 1215 and effective for collection and fees from January 1, 2026

Desktop towers, printers, keyboards, hard drives, and cell phones are generally not covered under SB-20, though they may still be regulated as hazardous waste by DTSC.

SB 1215, signed in 2022, extended the program to covered battery-embedded products (CBEP) — devices with a battery embedded in them that cannot be easily removed by the consumer. Consumers began paying a CBEP recycling fee on 1 January 2026, collectors began recovering CBEP CEW on that date, and CalRecycle began accepting CBEP payment claims on 1 April 2026. CBEP is claimed on its own worksheet — CalRecycle 196C — and cannot be mixed into a CRT or non-CRT claim.

How does the CalRecycle payment system work?

California consumers pay a small Electronic Waste Recycling Fee when they purchase a new covered device at retail — $4, $5 or $6 depending on screen size. Retailers remit those fees to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, which deposits them into the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account. CalRecycle then pays approved recyclers for the CEW they process, and those recyclers pass a recovery payment — $0.40 per pound — to the approved collectors who recovered the material.

Payment rates are set by CalRecycle and differ by category: $1.19/lb for CRT CEW, $1.16/lb for non-CRT CEW and $1.15/lb for battery-embedded CEW, with a $0.40/lb recovery payment passed to the collector for all three. CRT and non-CRT are tracked separately because they have different recycling cost structures — CRTs contain lead-laden glass that is significantly more expensive to process. Accurate weight tracking by category is critical: undercounting means unclaimed revenue, and overcounting creates audit exposure.

How often do you actually file with CalRecycle?

There is no single quarterly 'CEW report'. The CEW program runs on two different cycles, and conflating them is the most common mistake operators make:

• Payment claims — filed by the approved recycler with CalRecycle, one per calendar month, and received by CalRecycle within 45 days of the end of the reporting month (14 CCR § 18660.22(b), (f)). A claim received late may be returned without payment.
• The CalRecycle 198 collection log — maintained by the approved collector as CEW is accepted, with source, date and CRT / non-CRT / CBEP unit counts (14 CCR § 18660.20(j)).
• The DTSC e-waste Annual Report — due February 1 for the previous calendar year (22 CCR §§ 66273.32(d), 66273.74(b)).
• The CalRecycle net cost report — an annual report on the cost of recovering and recycling CEW, filed separately from the DTSC Annual Report.

One point that surprises people: collectors do not file payment claims with CalRecycle at all. CalRecycle pays the approved recycler, and the recycler passes the recovery payment to the collector who transferred the material. If you collect rather than recycle, your recurring state filing is the DTSC Annual Report — plus keeping the 198 log current all year.

DTSC and SB-20: understanding both agencies

The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) regulates the hazardous waste side of e-waste, which runs parallel to the SB-20 CalRecycle payment system. CRT devices are classified as hazardous waste in California. If you store, transport, or process CRTs, you likely need a DTSC hazardous waste facility permit or must operate under an applicable exemption.

DTSC requires its own reporting, filed through its Universal Waste Electronic Devices (UWED) online system or on Form 1471: a notice of intent before you begin handling e-waste, and an Annual Report due February 1 covering the previous calendar year. That runs alongside your CalRecycle reporting, and staying compliant means keeping both streams accurate and reconciled.

Key obligations for approved collectors

• Hold current CalRecycle approval as an approved collector, or transfer to an approved recycler
• Log all incoming CEW by device type and weight at intake
• Maintain the CalRecycle 198 collection log as material is accepted, with CRT, non-CRT and CBEP unit counts
• Document downstream recyclers and maintain chain-of-custody records
• File the DTSC e-waste Annual Report by February 1 if you meet the reporting thresholds
• Keep receiving records, scale tickets, and CEW logs for at least three years (14 CCR § 18660.8(d))