7. a. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for promotional purposes in this State any mercuric oxide battery, or any nickel-cadmium or sealed lead rechargeable battery, unless the manufacturer thereof has obtained the prior written approval of the department of a plan for the collection, transportation, recycling or proper disposal of that used dry cell battery pursuant to the provisions of section 8 of this act.
Any two or more manufacturers may submit a joint plan to the department for any specified mercuric oxide battery or rechargeable battery that they manufacture.
b. Every manufacturer shall be liable, at his own expense, for the environmentally sound collection, transportation, recycling or proper disposal of every used mercuric oxide battery, or used nickel-cadmium or sealed lead rechargeable battery, as the case may be, produced by him and sold or offered for promotional purposes in this State.
c. Manufacturers may establish or utilize a trade association or a consortium comprised of members of the dry cell battery industry, as appropriate, in order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of this act.