It's a deposit just like how some states do for cans. You pay extra when you buy it, and when you bring it back to be recycled you get the money back
But it doesn't even have to be state run. It could simply be mandated that the manufacturers buy back their old batteries for a minimum price.
The state also loses money here, unless the cost of running this program is neligible.
>But it doesn't even have to be state run. It could simply be mandated that the manufacturers buy back their old batteries for a minimum price.
I'm not saying this is a bad program, but this still walks, talks, and quacks like a tax.
This is the same idea.
Buy a device with a battery, pay some small amount as a deposit, get your deposit back when you bring it back for recycling.
I'm not saying I don't like the idea, but this is a tax with a different name. And we haven't even gotten to how someone pays for the infrastructure for all this battery cleanup.