A quality assurance plan prepared and implemented by a public agency, or its contractor, shall meet the following conditions:

(a) The public agency, or its contractor, shall design the quality assurance plan to ensure, using its best efforts with the resources generally available to the public agency, or its contractor, that a reusable household hazardous product or material selected for distribution is appropriately labeled, has labels that are intact and legible, is not contaminated, is not broken or leaking, and appears to be as it originated from the product or material manufacturer. The product or material selected for distribution may be in a container that has minor damage, such as dents or scratches, provided that the container maintains its integrity, any valves, caps, or lids appear functional, and the contents of the container do not appear compromised or impaired.

(b) The quality assurance plan shall identify specific procedures for evaluating each container placed in a materials exchange program.

(c) The quality assurance plan shall identify reusable household hazardous products and materials that shall not be accepted for distribution in a materials exchange program. Unacceptable products and materials may include, but are not limited to, any product or material that is not legal to use or sell in California.

(d) The quality assurance plan shall be implemented at each household hazardous waste collection facility operated by the public agency, or its contractor, at which a materials exchange program is operated.

(e) The quality assurance plan shall identify when a reusable household hazardous product or material no longer meets the conditions in the protocol in the materials exchange program and becomes a waste. For products and materials that are no longer reusable and that remain in inventory at the household hazardous waste collection facility, the product or material becomes a waste when discarded and shall be managed in accordance with the applicable hazardous waste requirements of this chapter.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 485, Sec. 5. (SB 726) Effective January 1, 2020.)