Tuesday 9th June 2009

The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations came into play 5 May 2009 (applicable to England, Ireland and Wales) and the Waste Batteries (Scotland) Regulations 2009 are due to come into force on 6 July 2009.

These regulations establish a new producer responsibility scheme for the collection, treatment and recycling of waste portable, industrial and automotive batteries.

These regulations will affect any business that uses and disposes of batteries as well as those companies which manufacture and/or produces battery powered products.

Companies who manufacture batteries will need to register with the Environment Agency or England and Wales, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland or the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency in Scotland.

The requirements of the regulations can be briefly summarised as follows:
• Quantities of waste batteries collected and sent for recycling to be reported to the relevant authority.
• Those that produce and or place more than one tonne of batteries on the market to join a battery compliance scheme and pay for the collection and treatment in proportion to market share from 1st January 2010.
• Those who sell more than 32kg of household batteries must make arrangements to take these back in store (free of charge) for disposal from 1st February 2010.
• Those who produce industrial and automotive batteries to register directly with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
• All waste batteries that are taken back or collected are to be delivered separately for treatment and recycling to an approved battery treatment operator or an approved exporter.
• As from 1st January 2010 there is a ban on disposal of batteries to landfill or by incineration.

If you require further guidance/help with the Battery Regulations please call Enviroco on 01493 856722 (England) or a 01779 485200 (Scotland) and we will be happy to help.

The full text of the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 is available at:
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/pdf/uksi_20090890_en.pdf (England/Ireland/Wales)
www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2009/draft/sdsi_9780111005064_en_1 (Scotland)

Further guidance can be found from the following source:
http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/legislation/future/63655.aspx?gclid=CJ78iNny_JoCFWIB4wod0CA0tA