However, with councils having no legal obligation to collect batteries, they have stressed that they will be unwilling to go further and introduce kerbside collection without funding from batteries compliance schemes.
On Monday (October 26), the borough of Poole, in Dorset, revealed plans to install seven mobile recycling for portable batteries from November 7, allowing residents to recycle batteries alongside other materials at five collection points in car parks and leisure centres.
News of the installation of the collection points comes as compliance schemes reach agreements with councils to collect batteries from their CA sites and offices which, they hope, will help them to meet their members' obligations.
Kerbside
However, with battery recycling targets set to increase significantly between 2010 and 2012, councils have claimed that they will have an even larger part to play in the future, in particular by providing kerbside collections.
Under the UK battery regulations there are non-mandatory collection targets of 10% for 2010 and 18% for 2011, but the UK must then reach a mandatory EU goal of 25% in 2012.
Compliance schemes have expressed confidence that the interim targets can be met largely via retail take-back and routes such as CA sites, libraries and schools, but have acknowledged they will need to explore other avenues for 2012 and beyond.
And, Stephen Didsbury, head of waste and street services at the London borough of Bexley, echoed those sentiments, claiming: “I can't see, in the medium term, them meeting the levels without them taking it to the kerbside.”
Cost
In the past, while WRAP's battery collection trials showed council-run kerbside schemes were the most effective way to collect batteries (see letsrecycle.com story) councils have expressed concern over their potential cost to them (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, Andrew Craig, principal policy officer at the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee, stressed that, while many councils would be “in a position” to introduce kerbside collection, “the cost must be borne by producers and compliance schemes”.
However, he also claimed that, while there would be very few kerbside collection schemes that could be introduced at no cost to councils – and therefore compliance schemes, there would be some where the cost “might not be much”.
Mr Craig pointed towards the potential to add “simple plastic bags” to an existing source-separated collection as a way to collect batteries without adding much cost to collection.
CA sites
Councils have also revealed that, in the lead up to January 1 2010, when the regulations come into force, schemes are stepping up their efforts to secure batteries from local authority civic amenity sites, and other sites such as libraries.
Mr Didsbury explained that Bexley was having to undertake a “mini-tender”, using “robust selection criteria” to make a fair decision between two compliance schemes that were looking to install collection points at the council's CA sites and other collection points.
And, Mr Craig compared procurement exercises currently being undertaken by councils to the one they used when deciding which WEEE compliance scheme could collect waste electrical equipment from their CA sites.
Meanwhile, Harbinder Dhaliwal, policy consultant for waste at the Local Government Association, claimed that the principle concern for councils when it came to collecting batteries at CA sites was the cost of transporting them onwards for reprocessing.
She added: “From what I understand some local authorities have been in discussions with compliance schemes and have asked them to come and pick them up and they have been happy to do that.”
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