European Parliament Seeks to Tighten Battery Recycling Plans

The European Commission’s Environment Committee is seeking a stronger target for recycling of batteries and accumulators throughout the European Union.

Representatives from the committee are calling for a collection rate of 50 percent of the national annual sales of portable batteries, which would mean a collection rate of 40 percent.

The committee says the collection targets should be amended to percentage targets in order to better reflect the level of consumption, which varies throughout the EU.

Additionally, the committee is seeking to limit the use of cadmium, lead and mercury in batteries wherever possible. It is therefore calling for governments to prohibit sales of all batteries or accumulators containing more than 5 parts per million (ppm) of mercury by weight, 40 ppm of lead, and/or 20 ppm of cadmium. A list of exemptions will be provided for applications where the use of these heavy metals is unavoidable - in other words, where no substitutes exist. But MEPs say the list should be reviewed to ensure that it keeps up with latest technological developments, for example if the use of these metals becomes avoidable through the emergence of alternatives.

This past November the EC Commission adopted a proposal for a new Battery Directive. The proposal imposes an obligation to collect and recycle all batteries placed on the market in the EU so that they are not sent for landfill or incinerated and the various metals which they contain can be recovered. The Commission decided against a ban on nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries.

The Parliament's is expected to vote on the report later this month.