08.01.2010

New directive requires manufacturers to provide collection and battery recycling facilities, reports Envido.

From the 1 February this year, firms should find it easier to recycle batteries safely under new European Union regulations to be introduced in the UK at the end of this month. Manufacturers of batteries will for the first time be legally required to provide collection and battery recycling facilities for their disposal.

Using as a reference the EU's existing Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), the legislation shifts the responsibility of battery recycling from the user to the manufacturer. It becomes illegal in the UK to dispose of consumer, industrial and automotive batteries by sending them to landfill.

As a result, organisations such as hospitals or airports, which normally use large batteries as back-up or emergency power generators can now ask producers to provide collection and  battery recycling on a free-of-charge basis.

New battery recycling regulations will reduce carbon emissions of harmful chemicals

The battery recycling regulations would help reduce carbon emissions of the potentially harmful chemicals found in many batteries and accumulators, while also making it easier for end users to recycle batteries safely.

Under the new rules, manufacturers selling more than one tonne of batteries each year will have to join a Battery Compliance Scheme, which will arrange for the collection and battery recycling on their behalf for a fee based on their market share.

Manufacturers will report on the amount of waste collected and sent for recycling batteries, and adhere to new environmental standards for the safe disposal of certain chemicals. Smaller producers will not have to join a scheme, but will be required to register with the Environment Agency.

According to the European commission, mercury, lead and cadmium are the most problematic substances in the battery waste stream and batteries made with these metals are classified as hazardous waste. When these waste batteries are burned, they contribute to carbon emissions and, when they end up in landfill, the metals leak into the surrounding land.

Envido can carry out an end-to-end audit of your waste management process. We will give you a detailed understanding of how to improve efficiency within your existing waste management and disposal processes, and identify opportunities for energy, carbon emissions and financial savings.

> Find out more about waste audits