Battery data shows UK misses 2011 target

Battery producers have narrowly missed their interim target to collect 18% of waste portable batteries for recycling in 2011, according to provisional Environment Agency data.

And, despite significant progress being made in recent years, producer compliance schemes arranging collections for the batteries sector have warned that collection rates could level out unless further investment is made.

The 2011 target is not legally-binding but a 25% target for 2012 is mandatory.

Compliance schemes have until May to submit final numbers, but provisionaldata gathered by theAgency and released on theNational Packaging Waste Database, shows that39,609 tonnes of portable batteries were placed on the market in 2011 by the large producers who are obligated under the Batteries Regulations to fund the collection, treatment and recycling of waste portable batteries.

Evidence notes issued under the UKs battery recycling system were issued for a total of 7,900.103 tonnes of waste portable batteries in 2011. And, according to current data the UK will have achieved an overall collection rate of 17.8% just shy of the interim target of 18%.

2012 target

The first legally binding waste battery collection target set by the EU Batteries Directive applies for this year, with member states required to collect a total of 25% of all the portable batteries placed onto the market over the two preceding years, rising to 45% in 2015.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: Battery collection rates are very close to the interim informal target for 2011 and we are working with compliance schemes to ensure that accurate final data is produced and targets met. The UK appears to be on target to meet its 2012 statutory obligations.

The spokesman added that by May 2012, the Agency is hopeful that further data will show that the UK will have actually met its 2011 target.

While the UK is still short of the 25% goal, progress does appear to have been made. The UKs collection rate has risen from 9.56% in 2010 despite data from one compliance scheme being unavailable.

Challenge

Despite this progress, Duncan Simpson, sales and marketing manager at Valpak warned that compliance schemes will face a tough challenge in the coming years to increase collection rates.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Mr Simpson said: We have done extremely well in taking forward batteries collections. The move from this target to the next one will be the difficult part. I think that during the first period of collection the key was to extend the network of collection points. There were plenty of people that wanted to recycle batteries and schemes worked to ensure that the network has extended to take battery recycling to those individuals.

There becomes an issue when participation levels begin to flatten and then we will see if you have to spend more money on different ways of collection or whether we have to start looking at more publicity – that is when the costs will start to increase. The next phase is to work out as schemes where we will get the volumes we need to meet the targets.

Scott Butler, general manager for battery compliance scheme ERP, said: The UK seems to be on track to meet these difficult collection targets. The focus has been on building collection networks and we are looking at those and seeing where the problems are and why they are there. We have new collection points coming on stream all the time.

I am confident from the perspective of our scheme that we are on track, but I think that the 45% target is very challenging. The more you get beyond 25% it gets ever more challenging but that is the point.

2010 data

The Environment Agency also revealed that the data for 2010, which was delayed due to discrepancies in the submission from one of the compliance schemes (see letsrecycle.com story), should be released soon. A spokeswoman for the agency said: The reason the 2010 data has not yet been released is that there was a legal issue with one of the schemes. This issue has now been resolved and the data will be issued shortly.