Battery compliance schemes

The EU Batteries Directive sets collection targets that must be met by 26 September 2012 and 26 September 2016. Battery Compliance Schemes (BCSs) must collect waste portable batteries equivalent to at least 25% of their members’ market share in 2012 and subsequent years. From 2016 onwards, schemes will need to collect at least 45%. They will do this by financing the net costs of the collection, treatment and recycling of waste portable batteries. By net costs we mean the costs excluding any profit made from the sale of materials collected.

It is a condition of approval that schemes meet these targets in relation to their members and it is an offence for them not to do so.

Compliance schemes based in Scotland will be approved and monitored by SEPA. Schemes based in England and Wales will be approved and monitored by the Environment Agency and those based in Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

The UK Batteries Regulations place other requirements on compliance schemes. You can read about these in more detail in Part 6 and Schedule 3 of the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 external link and from page 27 onwards of the Government Guidance Notes (pdf link 342kb).

Please see this current list of Approved Battery Compliance Schemes excel link (17k) which is also in in the Batteries Public Register of the National Packaging Waste Database external link. 

Effects on local authorities

Local authorities do not have obligations under the UK Batteries Regulations. Some local authorities already collect batteries and others wish to do so.

Through the financing obligation placed on producers, the Batteries Regulations provide a potential source of funding to provide a batteries collection service for local residents. Local authorities will be key partners for compliance schemes because of their collection infrastructure, expertise in waste collection and access to batteries in household waste.

For continuity, local authorities may wish to work with the same compliance scheme that they work with under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. This will be possible provided the scheme has also been approved under the Batteries Regulations.

Further information on the role of local authorities can be found on page 43 of the Government Guidance Notes (pdf link 342kb).