Conciliation Agreement on Batteries Directive

Publication date: 03 May 2006

Only six Member States currently have schemes for collecting spent portable batteries and accumulators. Following a deal reached on 2 May in the Conciliation Committee, a new EU directive will ensure that such schemes are set up throughout Europe by 2008. The aim: to protect nature and rubbish dumps from the often toxic substances contained in the tons of batteries we use. In future our old batteries will have to be collected and recycled.

Collection rates: In 2002 the collection rates of portable batteries in the six countries which have already set up schemes were: Belgium 59%, Sweden 55%, Austria 44%, Germany 39%, the Netherlands 32% and France 16%.  The new directive lays down minimum collection rates to be reached by all Member States: 25% by 2012 and 45 % by 2016.
 

Labelling: as of 2009, labels will have to indicate the real capacity of batteries and accumulators.
 

Entry into force and transposition:  The directive enters into force on the day it is published in the Official Journal (in the course of 2006) and the Member States have two years to transpose it into national law.
 

Bans:  The directive bans the sale of batteries and accumulators containing more than 0.0005% of mercury and 0.002% of cadmium, except emergency and alarm systems, medical equipment and cordless power tools.
 

Collection schemes: Easily accessible collection points must be available to consumers in their own neighbourhood two years after the directive enters into force (2008).  Thanks to Parliament, distributors will have to take back the spent portable batteries and accumulators at no cost to the consumer and regardless of when they were placed on the market.  And they must inform consumers that this possibility exists.
 

Information:  Producers must bear any net costs of information campaigns.
 

Registration:  All producers must be registered and, at Parliament's insistence, this must be done under similar procedures in all Member States, to ensure producers cannot duck their responsibilities.
 

Exemptions:   Parliament has sharply reduced the possible exemptions from the rules on collection and recycling that Member States wanted for small producers. These exemptions will be subject to strict conditions regarding compliance with competition rules.
 

Recycling rates: The targets laid down in the directive for recycling are 65% by average weight for lead-acid batteries and accumulators, 75% for nickel-cadmium and 50% for others.

 
Removability:  At Parliament's insistence, manufacturers will have to design appliances in such a way that spent batteries and accumulators can be easily removed.

 
Research:  The EP has added provisions to the directive to encourage research into better technologies for recycling and for manufacturing less polluting batteries.

Next steps
The agreement reached in the conciliation committee needs to be formally adopted by the Parliament and Council, after which the new Directive can be published in the Official Journal. Member States will have to transpose it into national law within two years of its adoption. Until then, the existing Battery Directive (91/157/EEC) continues to apply.

Background
Approximately 800,000 tonnes of automotive batteries, 190,000 tonnes of industrial batteries and 160,000 tonnes of portable (consumer) batteries are placed on the EU market annually. The metals used in those batteries vary considerably and include mercury, lead and cadmium (batteries containing them are considered hazardous waste by Commission Decision 2000/532/EC), nickel, copper, zinc, manganese and lithium.

In case of incineration, the metals used in batteries contribute to air emissions and pollute incineration residues. When batteries end up in landfills, the metals contribute to the leachate from landfills. Moreover, on a resource management level, batteries are considered a source of secondary raw materials. Thousands of tonnes of metals, including valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt and silver, will be recovered when batteries are recycled.

For more information:
- Joined text approved by the Conciliation Committee
- Commission’s Batteries website

getDoc.do;jsessionid=B54D59B5F359A7DCAF868AF2C6DD03F7.pdf (215 KB)

Related News Item:
EP second reading recommendation on Battery Directive (13 December 2005)