The 'Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008' were placed before Parliament earlier this week (see letsrecycle.com story), but have now been published in full. They come into force on September 26 2008.
Our Battery Regulations add to the measures that this Government has put in place to reduce the impact of waste products on the environment
Malcolm Wicks, energy minister
Commenting on their publication, energy minister Malcolm Wicks said: “Our Battery Regulations add to the measures that this Government has put in place to reduce the impact of waste products on the environment.”
“They represent a big first step towards implementing the Batteries Directive as a whole and provide positive contribution to the workings of the Internal Market and provide a foundation for reducing the environmental impact of the many millions of portable, industrial and automotive batteries used in the UK each year,” he added.
The regulations cover requirements for labelling batteries to boost recycling, set limits for the content of certain chemicals in batteries, and prevent the placing on the market of certain batteries.
They also give the Secretary of State for Business responsibility for enforcement, including powers to obtain evidence if producers are believed to have infringed the regulations.
Other powers included in the regulations include the ability to serve compliance and enforcement notices, as well as requiring producers to remove non-compliant batteries from the market.
And, they explain that fines of up to £5,000 can be issued, with costs, for failing to adhere to the regulations for placing batteries on the market or heeding an enforcement notice.
However, an enforcement agency is yet to be formally appointed by the Secretary of State.
And, there is still uncertainty over the second half of the UK's implementation of the Batteries Directive, its system for the collection, transport and recycling of waste batteries.
While BERR indicated in July that a multiple producer compliance scheme system would be used (see letsrecycle.com story), the exact details of how it will operate are not expected to be published in regulatory form until late this year or early in 2009.
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