The Washington Department of Ecology has been working collaboratively for two years with the brake manufacturing industry, automobile part distributors, environmental groups, and others to develop a certification process for environmentally friendly brake pads and shoes. Ecology has announced it has adopted rules to complete this process and move forward to carry out a groundbreaking state law. In 2010 Washington state became the first place in the world to pass a law — Chapter 70.285 RCW, known as the Better Brakes Law — regulating the content of brake friction material because of its impact on the environment. The law phases out copper, asbestos, and several heavy metals from brakes sold in Washington.