Battery Directive

 

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Eurobat position on producer responsibility in the new battery Directive - May 2007

 

Background

The European Commission adopted its proposal for a new Battery Directive on 24 November 2003, repealing the existing Battery Directive 91/157/EE in November 2003 in order to set targets for collection and recycling of all types of batteries and more stringent targets for Nickel-cadmium batteries. The Commission services made an Extended Impact Assessment in preparation of this Proposal. The European Council adopted its Common Position on the Directive on 18 July 2005. The European Commission has published a Communication on the Council’s Common Position on 29 August 2005.

The new Battery Directive was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 26 September 2006.

Guide on the Codecision procedure

Key issues for the industry in the draft Battery Directive:

• Eurobat is concerned with the capacity labelling requirements for automotive batteries
• Eurobat looks to the Technical Adaptation Committee of the EU Council to clarify the definitions of portable and industrial batteries
• Information campaigns on collection and recycling of portable batteries should be financed by producers of portable batteries
• Producers should not be liable to collect batteries of a different chemical composition than the batteries they have put on the market

While not always in agreement with the first proposals for a Directive made, EUROBAT welcomed the Commission’s new procedure for the Extended Impact Assessment held in Spring and Summer 2003 on the selected policy options in view of the revision of the existing battery Directives and the consultation of interested parties. EUROBAT submitted its comments on April 28, 2003. It has communicated with the consultant appointed by European Commission. EUROBAT also participated at the hearing hosted by the European Commission on July 15, 2003 in Brussels.

As the European Parliament and Council are now proceeding with the legislative procedures for the draft Directive, EUROBAT would like to point out that the whole automotive and industrial battery market is strictly regulated through existing European and national waste management legislation.

Collection and Recycling in the draft Battery Directive

EUROBAT supports the Commission’s draft proposal for a closed loop system, resulting in the collection of all batteries that are accessible for collection.

EUROBAT is fully aware of the need to promote the collection and recycling of all types of batteries all over Europe. Practical experience, however, shows clearly that there are only limited ways of determining the true collection rate of industrial and automotive batteries. Preliminary methods of calculation introduced in Germany, Italy and Sweden demonstrate that for example automotive batteries are collected at high rates in these Member States.

For Automotive Batteries, the quantity of batteries sold in relation to batteries recollected can vary significantly, as the collection rate is influenced by three parameters:

• The lifespan of Automotive Batteries, which can range from 3 to 7 years,
• The percentage of cars with batteries in use that is exported, and
• The variation of metal prices (in times of low Lead prices, scrap metal dealers, will keep spent batteries on stock)

While the collection is well established across the EU-15, the infrastructure still has to be installed in certain countries, especially in new Member States. In consequence, the implementation of collection has to consider an appropriate transition period as proposed in the Commission’s draft.

Taking into account that the lifespan of industrial batteries varies from several months up to 20 years, it is very difficult to make a correlation between products sold and returned within only one year.

From the nature of the product and their application, Industrial Batteries are not an item of concern for inappropriate waste management. As stated in the Commission’s draft, the collection and recycling of industrial batteries is to be regulated by established industry practices and supplier-customer regimes. Though the collection regimes vary from country to country within the EU, the efficiency rate is currently quite high.

In addition, spent Lead Acid Batteries have a positive market value (see table below), so they are in the scope of existing collection regimes (Scrap Industry – End User) beyond the influence and responsibility of the producer. A mandatory collection program would create unacceptable administrative burdens and will severely distort these existing efficient regimes.

EUROBAT proposes realistic recycling targets applicable to all battery systems. These targets should be determined by environmentally and economically viable parameters.

The European Commission proposes one single fixed weight-related recycling target for lead-acid batteries. Practical experience shows that, depending on the recycling technology, mainly the metal content of the battery is guaranteed to be recycled. Recycling of other materials like electrolyte or plastics is for the most part not worthwhile because of contaminants. Furthermore, the efficiency by weight varies considerably according to the type of battery; it is, for example, much higher for lead-acid batteries (used in cars or trucks) than for Lithium batteries (used in military applications).

EUROBAT agrees that the collected batteries are to be sent for recycling operations (R4 Reclaiming of Metals and Metal compounds), that are described in the Non-Ferrous Metals BAT Reference Note (December 2001, http://eippcb.jrc.es)

EUROBAT also refers to the BAT for efficient recovery and recommends defining a recovery target of an average of 55% (recognising the high level of recovery of lead content in the batteries, as well as the recovery of steel, plastic components etc.) by weight of the automotive and industrial batteries available after collection.

Any percentage should reflect the average lead content of the different types of lead batteries and the amounts of recycled lead according the various recycling methods.

It must also be considered by policy makers to keep the market for battery recycling competitive, because a percentage at too high a level could reduce the available recycling capacity on the market of recycling companies, hence our proposed rate.

Producer’s Responsibility

EUROBAT stresses that collection and recycling should not be exclusively the responsibility of producers, but has to be a shared responsibility with end-users and retailers. The latter are to take care of and finance the collection whereas producers should take care of the recycling. This has to respect the conditions of the different battery market sectors. In addition, the shared responsibility on spent Batteries is already defined in several national waste legislations.

The legislation must take into account that a producer means any person who, irrespective of the selling technique used, (similar to adopted legislation such as the WEEE directive)

• Manufactures and sells batteries under his own brand Resells under his own brand batteries produced by other suppliers (private label),
• Imports or exports batteries on a professional basis into a Member State
• Manufactures and sells, imports or exports equipment incorporating batteries on a professional basis into a Member State

European legislation should not affect existing efficient systems in place on a regional or national level in the EU.