The EC’s recently adopted Batteries Directive set a raft of requirements for the collection and treatment of used portable batteries. How far are Member States from reaching the set targets? Quite some way - as the diverse range of recycling rates across Europe suggest.
‘The EU gives high priority to making sure that batteries no longer cause health and environmental problems due to the heavy metals they contain,’ commented Stavros Dimas, the European Commissioner for the Environment, in May 2006. ‘Now it is time to start implementing the provisions of the new Battery Directive. The faster we start to collect and recycle batteries, the better for the environment.’
The new Directive on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators (2006/66/EC) was adopted on 6 September 2006. This Directive replaces Directive 91/157 passed in 1991, which only covered batteries containing certain dangerous substances. Fifteen years down the road, the new Directive encompasses all battery categories and sets clear collection and recycling targets for all 25 Member States. Implementation is due in 2008 and will harmonize the wide range of rules that apply in different Member States today.
Pitfalls of the old Directive
The 1991 Directive was passed with one goal in mind: to limit the dispersion of dangerous substances in batteries (mainly lead, cadmium and mercury). Basically it entailed marking relevant batteries and compelling Member States to set up and run programmes to collect and recycle them. But it did not set targets, and efforts to run appropriate schemes soon ran into a number of difficulties - linked with catering for different types of batteries (industrial, portable and button cells) and different types of markets (automotive, industry and consumers). In addition, it was not easy for consumers to distinguish between the batteries targeted by the regulation and those beyond its scope.
Different countries transposed and enforced this Directive in different ways. Some did nothing, others transposed it into national legislation but did not run any associated schemes, while others enforced collection rules on all portable batteries (encompassing zinc-carbon and alkaline-manganese batteries, rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, and new nickel metal hydride batteries).
Since then, several countries have achieved impressive collection and recycling rates ahead of the new Battery Directive: Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and France, for instance, collect and recycle 30%-60% of their portable batteries, compared with the quantities put on the market.
 The new Batteries Directive has set numerous provisions for the collection, treatment and recycling efficiencies for used batteries. photo: saft batteries |
However, portable batteries in several countries are still being collected at very low rates. This is the case in Spain, Italy, the UK, Ireland and Greece. (An interesting case occurs in the Scandinavian countries, which have set up programmes for nickel-cadmium batteries but have low collection rates. This is explained by a shortage of used batteries: Scandinavians tend to keep their appliances - and therefore the batteries in them - for longer.)
A new Directive emerges
After a few scattered initiatives, European authorities got down to reviewing Directive 91/157 in depth in 2003. Consultations and impact assessments led to a new Directive, the main provisions of which are covered in the box on the facing page.
Preserving resources
One aspect in the new Directive deals with preserving resources and therefore with reusing the materials contained in batteries. Industrial and automotive batteries that contain lead and cadmium are already collected and recycled efficiently. The general goal here is to recover materials and route them back into production processes. Battery manufacturers already process and recycle lead and cadmium, so the next step is to enable them to reuse zinc, manganese, iron and nickel (or cobalt in the case of rechargeable batteries). According to the European Commission, ‘thousands of tonnes of metals, including valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt and silver, could be recovered if batteries did not go to landfills/incinerators’.
 One important element of the new Directive concerns the reuse of a wider range of metals including zinc (shown here), manganese, iron and nickel. |
Recovering materials should be the main goal for manufacturers and recyclers. Reselling those materials - especially at a time when metal prices are high - would cover some of the collection and recycling costs.
 Metals recovery from old batteries makes economic sense because of the currently high metal prices. photo: valdi |
However, there is still a lot of work to do. Collection figures vary considerably across the 25 European Union countries. And it must be said that the inclusion of 10 new Member States played a role in setting short-term collection targets, while the infrastructure to do so is lacking.
Analysing the data
European Commission figures suggest that about 800,000 tonnes of automotive batteries, 190,000 tonnes of industrial batteries and 160,000 tonnes of portable (consumer) batteries reach the market every year in Europe. But those figures do not include the 10 new Member States. In total, roughly 180,000-190,000 tonnes of portable batteries reach the market every year.
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Table 1 provides a breakdown of the types of used batteries that members of the European Battery Recycling Association (EBRA) have processed over the last four years (practically all European recyclers are EBRA members).
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It is worth noting that EBRA members recycle batteries from around the world. With this in mind, it is important to take a closer look at recycling figures for batteries from the European Union’s 25 Member States. (The EC Directive targets do not apply elsewhere.)
Some 23,860 tonnes of portable batteries were collected and recycled in Europe in 2005. That is about 13% of the amount that reached the market. So there is a long way to go to reach the new Directive’s 25% target by 2012. EBRA has approached portable-battery manufacturers to discuss ways of achieving the 25% and then the 45% targets that will apply in all Member States.
Table 2 shows figures from European countries that have been running collection programmes for a number of years. The recycling rate here is defined as the amount of portable batteries recycled in 2005 compared with the number of batteries marketed that same year. Primary batteries are the non-rechargeable batteries (alkaline-manganese, zinc-carbon, zinc-air) and secondary batteries are the rechargeable batteries (nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride, lithium-ion, lead).
Looking ahead
Belgium boasts the remarkable recycling rate of 50%-60%. All other countries will soon have to set up collection systems to reach their initial 25% target. And countries that are already collecting 25% or even 45% should push ahead to collect two out of every three portable batteries on their markets.
The other issue that will be in the spotlight these coming months is recycling efficiency - that is, how much of a used battery’s content (metals essentially) is recycled. The European Commission will have to define calculation methods before the transposition deadline to make sure all Member States use the same yardstick.
Recycling efficiency encompasses a number of variables:
- average portable-battery content in waste flows (which varies from one country to another)
- whether the notion of ‘content’ only includes metal content or whether it encompasses other materials (mainly plastics) as well
- whether utilization for energy purposes should be factored into recycling efficiency.
EBRA is intent on making proposals on these issues. The next step is to secure across-the-board consensus on calculation methods for recycling efficiency. Doing so will make it possible to measure how much used-battery content is routed back into production lines to make new batteries or other products. The European Union’s goals - preserving resources - will then be achieved through the active involvement of recyclers.
is General Secretary of the European Battery Recycling Association (EBRA).
e-mail: ebeaurepaire@ebrarecycling.org
Note
- GRS 2005 report, Stibat 2005 report, French Observatoire des Piles et Accumulateurs (Battery and Accumulator Observatory) 2005 report.
Key provisions of the 2006/66/EC Batteries Directive
- Prohibiting all batteries that contain more than 0.0005% mercury and more than 0.002% cadmium by weight - whether or not these batteries are incorporated into appliances.
- Setting up appropriate collection schemes for waste portable batteries.
- Requiring minimum collection rates: 25% six years after the entry into force of the Directive and 45% ten years after the entry date.
- Requiring recycling processes to have minimum recycling efficiencies no later than five years after the entry into force of the Directive. The minimum recycling efficiencies shall be evaluated regularly and adapted to best available techniques. - recycle 65% by average weight of lead-acid batteries - recycle 75% by average weight of nickel-cadmium batteries (including recycling the lead and the cadmium content at the highest degree) - recycle 50% by average weight of other waste batteries.
- Prohibiting the disposal of waste industrial and automotive batteries in landfills or by incineration.
- Requiring producers to finance any net costs arising from the collection, treatment and recycling of all waste batteries collected.
- Fully informing end-users, through information campaigns, of: - the potential effects on the environment and human health of the substances used in batteries. - the benefits of not disposing of waste batteries as unsorted municipal waste - the collection and recycling schemes available - the meaning of the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol and the chemical symbols Hg, Cd and Pb.
- Marking batteries with the symbols Hg, Cd, Pb. In addition, the capacity of all portable and automotive batteries should be indicated on them in a visible, legible and indelible form by three years after the Directive’s entry into force.
- Requiring Member States to bring into force the laws, regulation and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by two years after its entry into force.
The European Battery Recycling Association
18 members (recycling companies): Accurec (Germany), Batrec (Switzerland), Fernwärme Wien (Austria), Citron (France), Duclos Environnement (France), Eurodieuze Industrie (France), Erachem-Comilog (Belgium), Falconbridge (Belgium), G&P Batteries (UK), MBM (France), Pilagest (Spain), Recupyl (France), Redux (Germany), Revatech (Belgium), Saft Batteries (Sweden), SNAM (France), Umicore (Belgium), Valdi (France)
5 associate members: Van Peperzeel (The Netherlands), Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain), Rumpold (Austria), Veneta Plastica (Italy), Acoor Environnement (France)
