(a) One (1) year after the implementation of a mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to § 8-9-605, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer subject to § 8-9-604 shall report individually or as part of a group to the Director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality concerning the steps being taken by manufacturers to design vehicles and their components for recycling. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

(1) A list of all vehicle components that contain mercury included in the manufacturer's vehicles in each of the previous three (3) model years, the current model year, and the next upcoming model year;

(2) Design changes that each manufacturer has implemented or is implementing to reduce or eliminate from its vehicles all sources of mercury listed in compliance with subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the amount of any reductions, and the year in which mercury will be eliminated from each of the vehicle components listed in compliance with subdivision (a)(1) of this section;

(3) Policies that each manufacturer has implemented to ensure that its vehicles are designed to be recycled in a safe, cost effective, and environmentally sound manner using existing technologies and infrastructures;

(4) A listing of all:

(A) Complaints and reports that the manufacturer has received within the last twelve (12) months from vehicle recyclers, scrap recycling facilities, government entities, or organizations representing any of the persons; or

(B) Other facts and circumstances that have made the manufacturer aware that the manufacturer's vehicles contain vehicle components or are designed in such a way that present environmental risks that make it uneconomical to recycle the vehicles or components; and

(5) The design or manufacturing changes that the manufacturer has implemented or is implementing to reduce or remove any environmental risks listed in compliance with subdivision (a)(4) of this section and the year in which design changes will eliminate the environmental risk listed in compliance with subdivision (a)(4) of this section.

(b) The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality may conduct hearings from time to time as the director deems appropriate to evaluate the steps manufacturers are taking to design for recycling and to recommend additional legislative action as may be appropriate in order to promote vehicle recycling for the purposes of the preservation of scarce resources and the safe and efficient reduction of solid waste.