§ 7181 — Definitions

As used in this chapter:
(1) “Agency” means the Agency of Natural Resources.
(2) “Consumer product” means any product that is regularly used or purchased to be used for personal, family, or household purposes.
(3) “Covered entity” means any person who presents to a collection facility or event that is included in an approved collection plan any number of covered household hazardous products, with the exception of large quantity generators or small quantity generators as those terms are defined in the Agency of Natural Resources’ Vermont Hazardous Waste Regulations.
(4)(A) “Covered household hazardous product” means a consumer product offered for retail sale that is contained in the receptacle in which the product is offered for retail sale, if the product has any of the following characteristics:
(i) the product or a component of the product is a hazardous waste under subchapter 2 of the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, regardless of the status of the generator of the hazardous waste; or
(ii) the product is a gas cylinder.
(B) “Covered household hazardous product” does not mean any of the following:
(i) a primary or rechargeable battery;
(ii) a lamp that contains mercury;
(iii) a thermostat that contains mercury;
(iv) paint products as that term is defined in section 6672 of this title;
(v) a covered electronic device as that term is defined in section 7551 of this title;
(vi) a pharmaceutical drug;
(vii) citronella candles;
(viii) flea and tick collars;
(ix) pesticides required to be registered with the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets;
(x) products that are intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled on, sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part of a human for cleansing, moisturizing, sun protection, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance, unless designated as a hazardous material or a hazardous waste by the Secretary of Natural Resources; or
(xi) gas cylinders determined by the Secretary by rule not to pose an unacceptable risk to human health, solid waste facility operation, or the environment, and which are not hazardous waste.
(5)(A) “Gas cylinder” means:
(i) any nonrefillable cylinder and its contents supplied to a consumer for personal, family, or household use and shall include those containing flammable pressurized gas, spray foam insulating products, single-use and rechargeable handheld fire extinguishers, helium, or carbon dioxide, of any size not exceeding any cylinder with a water capacity of 50 pounds, including seamless cylinders and tubes, welded cylinders, and insulated cylinders intended to contain helium, carbon dioxide, or flammable materials such as propane, butane, or other flammable compressed gasses; or
(ii) refillable cylinders containing propane for personal, family, or household use not exceeding a water capacity of one pound.
(B) “Gas cylinder” does not include any medical or industrial-grade cylinder.
(6)(A) “Manufacturer” means a person who:
(i) manufactures or manufactured a covered household hazardous product under its own brand or label for sale in the State;
(ii) sells in the State under its own brand or label a covered household hazardous product produced by another supplier;
(iii) owns a brand that it licenses or licensed to another person for use on a covered household hazardous product sold in the State;
(iv) imports into the United States for sale in the State a covered household hazardous product manufactured by a person without a presence in the United States;
(v) manufactures a covered household hazardous product for sale in the State without affixing a brand name; or
(vi) assumes the responsibilities, obligations, and liabilities of a manufacturer as defined under subdivisions (i) through (v) of this subdivision (6)(A), provided that the Secretary may enforce the requirements of this chapter against a manufacturer defined under subdivisions (i) through (v) of this subdivision (6)(A) if a person who assumes the manufacturer’s responsibilities fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
(B) “Manufacturer” does not mean a person set forth under subdivisions (A)(i)–(vi) of this subdivision (6) if the person manufacturers, sells, licenses, or imports less than $5,000.00 of covered household hazardous products in the United States in a program year and is registered with the Secretary.
(7) “Orphan covered product” means a covered household hazardous product for which no manufacturer is participating in a stewardship organization pursuant to section 7182 of this title.
(8) “Program year” means the period from January 1 through December 31.
(9) “Retailer” means a person who sells a covered household hazardous product in the State through any means, including a sales outlet, a catalogue, the telephone, the internet, or any electronic means.
(10) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Natural Resources.
(11) “Sell” or “sale” means any transfer for consideration of title or of the right to use by lease or sales contract a covered household hazardous product to a person in the State of Vermont. “Sell” or “sale” does not include the sale, resale, lease, or transfer of a used covered household hazardous product or a manufacturer’s wholesale transaction with a distributor or a retailer.
(12) “Stewardship organization” means a legal entity such as an organization, association, or entity that has developed a system, method, or other mechanism that assumes the responsibilities, obligations, and liabilities under this chapter of multiple manufacturers of covered household hazardous products and that is:
(A) exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
(B) created by a group of producers to implement a collection plan in accordance with section 7183 of this title.

Legislative History

(Added 2023, No. 58, § 2, eff. June 12, 2023; amended 2025, No. 59, § 7, eff. June 11, 2025.)