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Welcome to the letsrecycle.com battery recycling section.
Battery
recycling is a relatively new field for the UK.
While we recycle more than 90% of our lead acid
batteries — those used in vehicles —
just 4% of the non-lead acid waste batteries produced
each year in the UK are recycled.
This means that of about 25,000 tonnes of waste
household and industrial batteries generated in
the UK each year, just 1,000 tonnes is recycled.
Other European countries have more impressive
recycling rates and their own battery re-processing
facilities, but these are often subsidised by the
state.
In the UK, some councils are beginning to offer battery recycling services,
mostly at the request of residents. There are no obligations on local authorities
to do so, although recycling batteries does count towards councils' recycling targets.
September 2006 saw the adoption of a new European Battery Directive
that is to make manufacturers and importers fund
collections and recycling for spent batteries.
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Portable battery collection rates
(by percentage of sales 2002) |
| Belgium |
59 |
| Sweden |
55 |
| Netherlands |
44 |
| Germany |
39 |
| Netherlands |
32 |
| France |
16 |
| Spain |
14 |
| UK |
0.5 |
A revision of a largely toothless existing Directive, this new Directive
includes collection and reprocessing targets for portable batteries, while all
industrial and automotive batteries are to be collected for recycling.The
first collection targets for portable batteries are to be achieved by September
2012, but reprocessing targets for collected batteries must be achieved from
2010.
The government is currently in the early stages of seeking a nationwide
strategy for the collection and recycling of waste batteries to comply with the
Directive.
To follow the progression of battery recycling
in the UK, as reported by letsrecycle.com,
click on the dates below:
March 2008: Campaigners opposed to commingled recycling have warned that
adding batteries to such recycling schemes may lead to "serious" contamination
problems.
March 2008: As the government consultation on battery recycling draws to
an end, doubts have emerged about collecting batteries from the kerbside.
December 2007: Battery recycling consultation
Two government departments have issued a joint
consultation on new regulations implementing the
European Battery Directive. |
November 2007: Battery recycling firm G&P Batteries has launched a new
collection service for businesses.
September 2007: One of the first
services to help producers of waste batteries prepare for forthcoming
obligations to recycle them has been launched by compliance specialist Valpak.
August 2007: Unregistered car
battery collectors are undermining legitimate collectors and putting automotive
businesses at risk, according to G&P Batteries.
August 2007: Kerbside battery
collections have started to be rolled out across Harlow following the "huge
success" of a battery recycling trial.
June 2007:
Challenging targets for recycling batteries
under the Batteries Directive are looking increasingly
"within reach", according to WRAP.
May 2007: Possible batteries system overview
The first suggestion for incorporating European legislation
on battery recycling into UK law through a producer
responsibility system has been proposed by Defra. |
April
2007: Preparations for producer responsibility on batteries have
revealed the complicated nature of implementing Europe's Battery Directive in
the UK.
March
2007: The nationwide battery recycling trials have taken to the streets
with the introduction of community drop-off points in Camden and Cherwell.
February 2007:
Informal consultations on implementation
The government has started holding informal consultations
with industry concerning possible ways to implement the
Battery Directive. |
December 2006: A new form of
rechargeable battery which can be charged using
a computer's USB port has gone on widespread
sale in the UK.
December 2006: National battery
recycling trials have generated a "very
promising" response, according to WRAP.
October 2006: Sainsbury's is hoping to
more than double the current household battery
recycling rate in the UK with the launch of a
landmark new initiative.
October 2006: Battery producers are
calling on the government to class portable
batteries as non-hazardous waste, following the
publication of the Battery Directive.
September
2006: Europe has formally published the new
Battery Directive making producers responsible for collecting
and recycling spent batteries. |
July 2006: A leading UK battery recycler
has called on the government to trial more
battery recycling schemes in the community.
July 2006: Europe has formally approved the agreement on the Battery
Directive reached in April. The new Directive now needs only to be published
in the Official Journal to enter EU law.
June 2006: Battery manufacturers and
recyclers called for an early implementation of
the near-complete European Battery Directive, if
they are to meet expected targets.
May 2006: West Midlands firm G&P
Batteries has said the new EU Battery Directive
will be a difficult task for the UK since
collection levels are currently so low.
May 2006: The battery industry has
warned consumers they face higher prices for new
batteries if the Battery Directive is not
transposed to UK law effectively.
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April
2006: European ministers and MEPs have agreed a compromise on a new
Directive that will make producers responsible for collecting and recycling
spent batteries. |
April
2006: As the concliation process gets underway on the new Battery
Directive, MEPs have held up an expected agreement on proposals with more
concerns.
February 2006: Before Europe has even fully agreed a new
Battery Directive, the UK will next month mount an early bid to
meet recycling targets the Directive is expected to set.
February 2006: Further high-level talks
are set to take place later this month
concerning new European recycling targets for
batteries.
February 2006: Britain is a long way
behind the rest of Europe in collecting
batteries for recycling, ministers have
revealed.
December 2005: One of the first UK
commercial recycling plants for mobile phone and
computer batteries is now being developed for a
possible site in Derbyshire.
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December 2005:
In the new Battery Directive's second reading in the EU Parliament, MEPs
have thrown out attempts to increase recycling targets from those already
proposed. |
November 2005: Construction work has
begun on a new car battery recycling plant in
Blaenau Gwent, South Wales – supported by the
Welsh Assembly.
September 2005:
Battery recycler G&P Batteries has been awarded a contract to collect batteries from the Dixons Group.
July 2005:
The Department of Trade and Industry has said the Batteries Directive will not be
a priority during the UK's presidency of the European Union, and will have to wait until the
Austrian Presidency to be set.
March 2005:
The UK's first reprocessing facility dedicated to recycling household batteries has opened in West Bromwich.
February 2005:
Bath & North East Somerset residents have received praise for the successful start of the
unitary council's battery recycling service.
February 2005:
Cambridgeshire county council has become the latest local authority to take up battery recycling
collections, following pressure from residents.
January 2005:
Waste battery recycler G&P Batteries has created its own in-house driver's
academy to aid its imminent expansion.
January 2005:
Onyx and Sheffield city council are offering residents a service collecting batteries for recycling.
December 2004:
Environmental groups criticise EU ministers for granting "outrageous" exemptions to new Battery Directive.
December 2004:
The local government sector has welcomed moves by Europe to bring in producer responsibility for waste batteries.
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December 2004:
European environment ministers have reached a swift agreement on a proposed
new Battery Directive. |
November 2004:
West Sussex county council has opened battery recycling
points at 11 of its household waste recycling centres.
September 2004:
Bath & North East Somerset council has started offering householders a battery collection service.
September 2004:
UK local authority representatives have told Europe that manufacturers should
shoulder the burden for collecting batteries for recycling.
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August 2004 - Responses to Defra's consultation on European proposals for a battery recycling directive:
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July 2004:
Europe's first lithium-ion battery recycling research facility has been opened in Scotland.
July 2004:
Caroline Jackson MEP has criticised the UK government for creating "unnecessary red tape"
on the collection of batteries for recycling.
July 2004:
The UK is to get its own battery recycling plant which could mean
the end of battery shipments to France for recycling.
May 2004:
Consultation on EU negotiations
The government has opened a consultation to strengthen its position in
negotiating the UK's position in EU talks over the proposed new Battery Directive. |
April 2004: Energy minister Stephen Timms has said the UK needs investment in battery recycling
capacity to cope with a proposed European Battery and Accumulator Directive.
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April 2004: The European Commission has defended its proposed targets for battery recycling
from criticism by the European Parliament. |
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April 2004: The European Commission has defended its proposed targets for battery recycling
from criticism by the European Parliament. |
March 2004: The Local Government Association called on the European Parliament
to ban cadmium in batteries.
February 2004: A pan-European coalition of local authorities hit out at proposals for a new
Battery Directive, saying its recycling targets are too low.
December 2003: The Bristol Battery Campaign's trial found that recycling consumer batteries
in the UK costs £980 per tonne.
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November 2003: The European Commission has proposed a new producer responsibility Battery Directive,
setting collection and recycling targets for all types of batteries.
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October 2003: An impact assessment means Nickel Cadmium batteries
may not be banned under proposals to revise the European Battery Directive.
September 2003: Bristol's Battery Recycling Campaign ends its
first year with a warning that the UK will not meet expected EU targets unless it
has its own battery reprocessing facilities.
May
2003: A European battery coalition said
55% NiCad recycling must be enforced, in a position
paper on forthcoming legislation.
May
2003: Bristol's endangered battery recycling
scheme has been saved by Wolverhampton-based G&P
Batteries - but the additional sorting and transport
has pushed up costs.
April
2003: The Bristol Battery Recycling Campaign
has failed to find a new reprocessor in the UK
after its original partner closed down.
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March
2003: The European Commission has proposed introducing
producer responsibility for used batteries. |
February
2003: Gloucestershire county council has
awarded collections of batteries from its civic
amenity sites to Midlands firm G&P Batteries.
September
2002: Bristol City Council will begin
collecting household batteries from the kerbside
for reprocessing locally this month.
July
2002: The European Commission has thrown
out a proposal to restrict the sale of nickel/cadmium
batteries by 2008.
November
2000: A draft directive on batteries which
proposes a free take-back service for consumers
is set to be agreed by the European Commission.
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