Batteries

The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has issued a consultation paper on draft regulations to transpose the single market requirements of the Batteries Directive.  The consultation paper may be dowloaded below

Consultation Paper on regulations for the single market provisions in the batteries directive - letter to stakeholders (80KB)

The Department previously issued consultation documents on the Implementation of the Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive (2006/66/EC), in January 2008 and March 2007.  They can be downloaded below

Consultation Document on the Implementation of the Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive (817KB)

March 2007 Batteries Discussion Paper letter to Consultees (167KB)

March 2007 Batteries Discussion Paper (406 KB)

On 26 September 2006 the agreed text of Directive 2006/66/EC on Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/batteries/index.htm

This Directive repeals the existing Batteries Directive 91/157/EEC which had a more limited range of provisions.

The UK and all other Member States now have a deadline of 26 September 2008 to transpose the provisions into National Law.

The Directive seeks to improve the environmental performance of batteries and accumulators and of the activities of all economic operators involved in the life cycle of batteries and accumulators, e.g. producers, distributors and end users and, in particular, those operators directly involved in the treatment and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators.

When the Directive is transposed in the UK, the Directive will reduce the quantity of hazardous and non hazardous waste batteries going to landfill and increase the recovery of the materials they contain.

Key provisions of the Batteries Directive

Collection targets

• A 25% collection rate for waste portable household batteries to be met six years after entry into force of the Directive into UK law (2012). There is also a 45% collection rate to be met ten years after entry into force (2016).
• Prohibition of final disposal of automotive & industrial batteries into landfill and incineration, requiring, therefore, all industrial and automotive batteries to be recycled.
• All identifiable separately collected batteries to be recycled.

Collection schemes

• Collection schemes for the return of used portable batteries are to be established. These are to be free of charge to the end user.
• Producers of industrial batteries to offer free take back on all batteries from end users.
• Producers of automotive batteries to set up collection schemes for spent automotive batteries not covered under schemes established under the End of Life Vehicles Directive.

Prohibitions

The Directive also prohibits the placing on the market of any batteries that contain more than 0.0005% of mercury by weight; and of portable batteries that contain more than 0.002% of cadmium by weight. There are some exemptions to the prohibition for button cells containing mercury and for batteries containing cadmium, namely those that are used in emergency/alarm systems, medical equipment and cordless power tools.

Recycling efficiency targets

Recycling efficiency targets to be met (by 2011):

• 65% by average weight of lead-acid batteries and accumulators, including recycling of the lead, has to be recycled;
• 75% by average weight of nickel-cadmium batteries and accumulators, including recycling of the cadmium, has to be recycled;
• Recycling of 50% by average weight of other waste batteries and accumulators.

Financing

• Producers of portable batteries, or third parties acting on their behalf, to finance the costs of recycling of all separately collected portable batteries.
• Producers and users of industrial and automotive batteries may conclude other financing arrangements.
• Producers, or third parties acting on their behalf, required to fund consumer information campaigns.

WRAP battery trials

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is currently carrying out work to determine the most cost effective way of collecting batteries to meet the targets under the forthcoming Directive.

For the latest information on WRAP battery trials see the batteries pages on the WRAP website.