Change to battery take-back rules for retailers

The Environment Agency has announced a significant change to the system where waste batteries are collected from shops for recycling, potentially making retailer take-back an even more important component of the UK's efforts to reach its recycling targets under the imminent EU Batteries Directive.

This means that waste portable batteries can now be transported back to the retailer's distribution centre in empty lorries that have already made deliveries of food and other goods to the store. At the depot the batteries would then be bulked up for collection by a recycling and reprocessing business.

Previously, with batteries classed as a household waste, retailers would be expected to undertake collections of waste batteries using a dedicated collection vehicle.

While the EA still advocates the use of a dedicated collection service as an important option for retailers, it is believed that the 'back-haul' option will prove popular, particularly in more rural locations, because it offers both cost and carbon savings.

And, while retailers would have to maintain detailed paperwork for all transfers of waste batteries, they would not have to produce a waste transfer note or consignment note.

Implications

The move has potential implications for the UK's implementation of the collection and recycling provisions of the EU Batteries Directive, as it could make retailer take-back an even more attractive option as one way of helping towards meeting the recycling target of 25% of waste batteries by 2012.

In particular, once the proposed multiple producer compliance scheme system is introduced – either late this year or in early 2009 – the in-store take-back choice could be a cost-effective choice for compliance schemes looking to meet their member's obligations.

As part of a consultation of the UK's implementation of the Directive, held earlier this year, BERR mooted the possibility of using distributor/retailer infrastructure to collect all waste portable batteries, but concluded in its response that given “the current low level of portable battery collection and recycling in the UK”, this would represent a “risky approach” (see letsrecycle.com story).

The first half of the UK's transposition of the EU Batteries Directive – regulations relating to the placing of new batteries on the market – are set to become active later this week, on Friday 26 September (see letsrecycle.com story).