A consultation has been launched by the Government on the UK’s implementation of the amended Batteries Directive 2013 that says the UK will seek to meet the minimum requirements of the directive.
Among measures introduced by the amended Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive 2006 was a target to recycle 45 per cent of batteries by 2016.
It also included a measure that restricted the use of cadmium and mercury in the design and manufacture of new batteries with the exception of batteries intended for use in cordless power tools (CPTs) and button cells with a mercury content of less than 2 per cent by weight.
The 2013 directive extends the ban on cadmium in batteries in CPTs. However, to give the recycling industry and consumers time to adjust, this ban will not apply until 1 January 2017.
While a ban is also applied to mercury in button cells from 1 October 2015.
The consultation, launched by BIS and the devolved governments, said: “The Government intends to use the ‘copy out’ principle to transpose the 2013 Directive. This means that the UK will adopt implementing legislation that uses the same working as that of the EU legislation, without elaborating on that wording, and will not go further than implementing the minimum requirements of the 2013 Directive.”
Under the proposed regulations, the provisions relating to the removability of a waste battery from an appliance by an independent qualified professional will be amended.
The consultation lasts until 5 November, with the new regulations set to be put before Parliament, before coming into force from 1 July 2015.
