All Automotive Batteries to Be Recycled

A new legislation which came into effect on January 1st, 2010, stipulates that all waste industrial and automotive batteries will have to be recycled in the future at the manufacturer’s expense. Producers will be required to arrange the collection, treatment and recycling of such batteries, free of charge, if requested by business end-users and final holders.

The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 complement the existing Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) regulations 2008, which set out the requirements for introducing new batteries onto the market from 26 September last year.

“These regulations are designed to complement the excellent recycling rates traditionally achieved for industrial and automotive batteries,” said Ian Lucas, Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform.

“In simple terms, business users of industrial batteries, and final holders of automotive batteries, such as garages, End-of-Life Vehicle authorized treatment facilities, and Civic Amenity site operators, will no longer be faced with the costs that may be incurred through recycling scrap batteries. These costs will now be met by the producers,” he added.

Key elements of the new regulations include:

• Requiring any persons placing batteries on the market to register as a producer of batteries, and report on waste batteries collected and sent for recycling
• Requirements for the treatment and recycling of waste batteries

These regulations also introduce a ban on the landfill disposal or incineration of waste industrial and automotive batteries.