Agency confirms battery efficiencies approach

The Environment Agency has confirmed that it will not take any action against battery recyclers for not reporting the efficiencies of their battery recycling processes, despite a European deadline for them to begin doing so passing this week.

Under the European Batteries Directive, battery reprocessors were expected to meet and report standards for their battery recycling processes by Monday (September 26). These standards, known as efficiencies, have to be met for a waste battery to count as recycled.

However, the single Europe-wide methodology expected to be used to work out exactly how those efficiencies are calculated is yet to be agreed at a European level and, as a result, the European Commission was not expected to require them to report or meet any standards.

This assumption was cast into doubt earlier this month when it emerged that the Commission was still expecting the September 26 deadline to be met by reprocessors. It also expected the UK to report on the efficiencies achieved over the period October to December 2011 by June 2012.

This shock announcement led to confusion among UK battery recyclers over exactly what they would be expected to do to meet the European requirements, with Defra acknowledging it created a number of challenges for the industry (see letsrecycle.com story).

However, the Agency has now contacted all UK reprocessors and exporters in a note seen by letsrecycle.com to tell them exactly what approach it and Defra will be taking to meeting the requirements of the Commission.

Key to this is confirmation that it will, as expected prior to the Commissions statement earlier this month, be issuing a position statement confirming it will not take any action against operators unable to provide evidence of the recycling efficiencies being achieved following the 26th September 2011 deadline.

Instead, the Agency says that Defra plans to request that UK recycling facilities voluntarily provide information on the efficiencies achieved by their recycling processes by May 2012.

It explains that, because there is no single EU methodology for working these efficiencies out, facilities will be allowed to calculate efficiencies based on the data they already have available. This is likely to be welcomed by UK battery recyclers for not significantly adding to their administrative burden.

Defra then plans to use this information to meet the requirements of the Directive for it to report the efficiencies achieved to the Commission in June 2012. The Agency adds: After this date, Defra feel it would be reasonable to expect ABTOs/ABEs to be able to obtain information on recycling efficiencies in order to be able to comply with the reporting obligations in regulation 66(4).

Single methodology

Earlier this month, the Commission indicated it was hopeful a single methodology for calculating efficiencies could be agreed by EU member states by the end of 2011. It would then be implemented 18 months later.

In its latest note, the Agency states: When a methodology is agreed and provided we will inform operators along with details of arrangements for them to provide the required information to us.

We will take account of the practicalities of applying the methodology and reflect that in any deadlines set for the provision of information on recycling efficiencies.

The Agency stresses that, in the meantime, ABTOs and ABEs must, however, continue to ensure that batteries they receive are treated and recovered.