EU Directive Challenge UK to Recycle Batteries

Manufacturers and retailers of consumer, industrial and automotive batteries will have to adhere to strict new rules regarding the design, recycling and disposal of battery technologies.
The new rules, first made public last month in a government consultation document, will be introduced into the UK by September 26, 2008. This will bring the UK into compliance with the European Union’s Batteries and Accumulators Directive.
The proposed legislation will set as its initial target 25 percent of all waste household batteries for recycling by 2012. That number will rise to 45 percent by 2016. There are also a number of regulations specifically aimed at producers and retailers. Retailers will be required to take back waste household batteries at no charge to consumers. Producers will have to include clearer labels on batteries to promote recycling.
Also, household batteries with high levels of cadmium will be banned, and automotive and industrial batteries will no longer be allowed to be sent to landfills.
Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, stated that although the targets were challenging, he believed they were achievable and most of all, necessary. He stated that the UK was sending 700 million batteries to landfills.