1. (a) At least 120 days prior to submitting a proposal under Section 35, a manufacturer program operator must notify potential authorized collectors of the opportunity to serve as an authorized collector for the proposed drug take-back program. No later than 30 days after a potential authorized collector expresses interest in participating in a proposed program, the manufacturer program operator must commence good faith negotiations with the potential authorized collector regarding the collector's participation in the program.
2. (b) A person may serve as an authorized collector for a drug take-back program voluntarily or in exchange for compensation. Nothing in this Act requires any person to serve as an authorized collector for a drug take-back program.
3. (c) A pharmacy shall not be required to participate in a drug take-back program.
4. (d) A drug take-back program must include as a collector any person who (i) is a potential authorized collector and (ii) offers to participate in the program. The manufacturer program operator must include the person in the program as an authorized collector no later than 90 days after receiving a written offer to participate.
5. (e) A drug take-back program must pay for all administrative and operational costs of the drug take-back program, as outlined in subsection (a) of Section 55.
6. (f) An authorized collector operating a drug take-back program collection site must accept all covered drugs from consumers during the hours that the location used as a collection site is normally open for business to the public.

7. (g) A drug take-back program collection site must collect covered drugs and store them in compliance with State and federal law, including United States Drug Enforcement Administration regulations. The manufacturer program operator must provide for transportation and disposal of collected covered drugs in a manner that ensures each collection site is serviced as often as necessary to avoid reaching capacity and that collected covered drugs are transported to final disposal in a manner compliant with State and federal law, including a process for additional prompt collection service upon notification from the collection site. Covered drugs shall be disposed of at:

   1. (1) a permitted hazardous waste facility that meets the requirements under 40 CFR 264 and 40 CFR 265;
   2. (2) a permitted municipal waste incinerator that meets the requirements under 40 CFR 50 and 40 CFR 62; or
   3. (3) a permitted hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerator that meets the requirements under subpart HHH of 40 CFR part 62, an applicable State plan for existing hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerators, or subpart Ec of 40 CFR part 60 for new hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerators.
8. (h) Authorized collectors must comply with all State and federal laws and regulations governing the collection, storage, and disposal of covered drugs, including United States Drug Enforcement Administration regulations.
9. (i) A drug take-back program must provide for the collection, transportation, and disposal of covered drugs on an ongoing, year-round basis and must provide access for residents across the State as set forth in subsection (j).

10. (j) A drug take-back program shall provide, in every county with a potential authorized collector, one authorized collection site and a minimum of at least one additional collection site for every 50,000 county residents, provided that there are enough potential authorized collectors offering to participate in the drug take-back program.

    All potential authorized collection sites that offer to participate in a drug take-back program shall be counted toward meeting the minimum number of authorized collection sites within a drug take-back program. Collection sites funded in part or in whole under a contract between a covered manufacturer and a pharmacy entered into on or before June 10, 2022 (the effective date of this Act) shall be counted toward the minimum requirements within this Section for so long as the contract continues.

11. (k) A drug take-back program may include mail-back distribution locations or periodic collection events for each county in the State. The manufacturer program operator shall consult with each county authority identified in the written notice prior to preparing the program plan to determine the role that mail-back distribution locations or periodic collection events will have in the drug take-back program.

    The requirement to hold periodic collection events shall be deemed to be satisfied if a manufacturer program operator makes reasonable efforts to arrange periodic collection events but they cannot be scheduled due to lack of law enforcement availability.

    A drug take-back program must permit a consumer who is a homeless, homebound, or disabled individual to request prepaid, preaddressed mailing envelopes. A manufacturer program operator shall accept the request through a website and toll-free telephone number that it must maintain to comply with the requests.

(Source: P.A. 102-1055, eff. 6-10-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)