Batteries
Around 20,000 tonnes of waste general-purpose
batteries and 113,000 tonnes of waste automotive batteries are
disposed of in the UK every year. Unfortunately less than 2% of
consumer disposable batteries are recycled: the rest are disposed
of in landfill sites.
Most batteries contain heavy metals which, if
disposed of incorrectly, may leak into the ground when the battery
casing corrodes and cause soil and water pollution, and endanger
wildlife and human health.
Latest Information
01/10/09 – Approved
Battery Compliance Schemes 
17k
- Current List of Approved Battery Compliance Schemes as of
1st October 2009.
14/05/09 Batteries – Draft letter to
all producers
The environmental regulators sent a
letter to all EEE producers to inform them of the Waste
Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009.
05/05/09 Batteries – Government
Guidance Notes
Government Guidance Notes
have been
published on the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations
2009.
12/01/09 Batteries
consultation
The batteries consultation is
now available on the BERR website, this includes all of the
producer responsibility aspects of the legislation.
10/11/08 WRAP household battery
collection trials - report now available
WRAP was commissioned by Defra and the
Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to
run a series of battery collection trials to gain an understanding
of the most cost efficient ways to collect portable (household)
waste batteries. In Scotland WRAP worked with the Scottish Waste
Awareness Group to deliver the trials.
This report looks at each of the collection
trials in more detail and provides information on the structure,
operation and location of each of the trials. The results of each
set of trials in terms of the weight and chemistry of batteries
collected are provided, as is a breakdown of the cost to both set
up and to run each scheme over the trial period. The report
provides an insight into some of the factors critical to
establishing and running a successful battery collection scheme. In
addition, the report summarises the findings from independent
market research undertaken during the trial period, which enables a
valuable insight into householders' awareness and participation
levels in the trial areas. The report closes with recommendations
as to how a national infrastructure for battery collection might be
established in the UK.
The report is available on the WRAP
website:
http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/Batteries_report_-_final.479b71f2.6153.pdf
NOTICE - SEPA Enforcement Position in
Relation to Independent Auditor’s Reports (18 December
2008)
SEPA’s Enforcement Position document can be found here (499k).