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Batteries
Introduction
Waste battery recycling is due to increase significantly in the UK as a result of the impending implementation of the EU Batteries Directive. The Directive was published in the Official Journal on 26 September 2006 and the UK has implemented it by means of the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations which entered into force on 5 May 2009.
Current Practice
The UK currently has a mixed record of collecting waste batteries for recycling, with a high recycling rate for lead acid batteries (typically used in vehicles, and known as ‘automotive’) and industrial batteries, but a very low rate (approximately 4%) for ‘portable’ batteries, principally meaning those used in households. According to WRAP approximately 600 million UK household batteries (22,000 tonnes) are sent to landfill every year, with just 1,000 tonnes separately collected and recycled.
Other EU Member States have more impressive recycling rates and more comprehensive battery reprocessing facilities. For example, the collection rate for portable batteries is 60% in Belgium, 55% in Sweden, and 40% in Germany. A small number of UK local authorities offer limited battery collection services, and WRAP has undertaken a range of collection trials, including kerbside, take-back and community drop-off trials . The findings are being used to understand the most effective approaches to driving up waste battery collection rates across the country.
Aims of the Directive
The EU Batteries Directive seeks to improve the environmental performance of batteries and the activities of all economic operators involved in the life cycle of batteries. This includes producers, distributors, end-users and those operators directly involved in the treatment and recycling of waste batteries. Manufacturers and importers will be required to fund the collection and recycling of spent batteries.
Following transposition 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.
For waste portable batteries it requires specified collection rates to be attained by set dates with associated mandatory recycling efficiencies:
• a 25% collection rate to be met by September 2012
• rising to 45% by September 2016.
There are effective requirements for the separate collection and treatment of all automotive and industrial batteries. Of particular note is the requirement in the Directive for producers to fund sufficient, suitably accessible collection points for waste portable batteries which are free of charge to end users.
Recycling targets for separately collected batteries are also set out in the Directive: 65% by average weight of lead acid batteries; 75% of nickel cadmium batteries; and 50% of other waste batteries.
The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations
Within the framework of the EU Batteries Directive, the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations were laid on 21 April 2009 and came into force on 5 May, 2009 in the UK.
These Regulations will establish a new system of producer responsibility for the collection, treatment and recycling of waste portable, industrial and automotive batteries.
Key Points:
• Any person placing batteries on the market has to register as a producer of batteries and to report on the amount of batteries they place on the market.
• Special requirements for the treatment and recycling of waste batteries: all batteries will have to be treated and recycled using the best techniques.
• Aim to progress towards the EU Directive’s targets of collecting waste portable batteries, being 25% by September 2012 and 45% by 2016, through the application of interim targets.
• Producers of portable batteries will have to meet their responsibilities for collection and recycling by joining a Battery Compliance Scheme (BCS). BCSs will be approved by environment agencies in the UK and will also be responsible for informing consumers on how to return their waste batteries for recycling.
• Producers placing less than a tonne of portable batteries on the market will have to register with the environment agency but will not have to fund collection, treatment and recycling.
• As from February 2010, distributors of more than 32 kg of portable batteries per year will have to offer in-store collection for batteries when they become waste, display battery information at sales point in stores and will have the right to request a BCS to take deposited batteries away for recycling free of charge.
The Guidance Notes for the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 were jointly published on 6 May by BERR, Defra and the Devolved Administrations of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The guidance is intended to help those placing batteries and accumulators on the UK market, those selling portable batteries to consumers, and those collecting, treating, recycling or exporting waste batteries, to understand the application of the regulations.
In May 2009 Defra held a workshop on the handling of waste portable batteries and subsequently produced an Advisory Note on the transport and storage of waste portable batteries, available from www.defra.gov.uk.
The Importance of Recycling
While the exact chemical composition of batteries varies from type to type, many contain heavy metals which are the main cause for environmental concern. When disposed of incorrectly, these heavy metals may leak into the ground when the battery casing corrodes. This can contribute to soil and water pollution and endanger wildlife. Cadmium, for example, is a carcinogen which can be toxic to aquatic invertebrates and can bio-accumulate in fish, which damages ecosystems and makes them unfit for human consumption. Some batteries, such as button cell batteries, may also contain mercury, which has similarly hazardous properties.
Interpretation
The UK faces a particular challenge in meeting the Directive’s provisions for the separate collection and treatment of waste portable batteries. Consistent and competent enforcement of the batteries regulations will be an essential element of an effective and low cost compliance system, in which all parties have confidence and feel able to invest in high quality infrastructure. The establishment of a comprehensive collection network and the use of communications to ensure maximum awareness of battery recycling opportunities, particularly among consumers, will be essential to the UK meeting the Directive targets.
September 2009
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