Q2 2014 Portable battery collection figures released

The figures released by the Environment Agency last week show the UK has collected over 7,500 tonnes of waste batteries to date in 2014, towards an expected obligation of around 11,800 tonnes.

The proportion of the target being met through the collection of nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd) and ‘other’ batteries has also risen, continuing the trend carried through from Q1. However, some industry sources suggest that this trend is unlikely to quell concerns over the high proportion of lead acid batteries being used to meet the EU statutory targets. Lead-acid batteries make up the vast majority of batteries collected for recycling, despite being a relatively small proportion of the new batteries placed onto the market.

A fresh consultation on changing the definition in interpretation between battery recyclers and producers over which lead-acid batteries are classified as ‘portable’ or ‘industrial’ at the beginning and end of life is expected to take place in Autumn 2014. This disparity is thought to be the reason behind the greater volume of lead-acid batteries being collected for recycling than producers are obligated to finance.

We notice that the reduction in percentage of lead-acid batteries recycled, compared to the total recycled, matches ecosurety's efforts in developing our collection networks to ensure the amount of portable batteries recycled continues to increase in line with the targets set. To read more, click here for a recent article published by Lets Recycle.

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