New Battery Directive

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• New Battery Directive
• Rein Nieland
• DG Trade/E.2
• Steel, coal, shipbuilding, automotive, chemical
  and other industries

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Outline

• Objectives of EU Environmental Policy
• New Battery Directive
• Introduction
• Scope
• Content
• Collection scheme
• Labeling requirements

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1. Objectives EU Environmental Policy

• Sustainable development
• Precautionary principle
• Preventive action
• Environmental damage rectify at source
• Polluter pays

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2. Battery Directive Introduction

• Existing Battery Legislation
• Directive 91/157/EEC has a limited scope only
  applies to batteries with a certain mercury,
  cadmium and lead content which are classified as
  hazardous waste
• Requires Member States to set-up efficient
  collection scheme
• Restricts the use of mercury in batteries
• Requires batteries to be recovered or disposed of
• Why does EU need a new Directive?
• Existing Battery Directive has failed to
  adequately control the risks posed by batteries
  in the waste stream many batteries still ended
  up in the environment
• It covers only 7 of all portable batteries
  places on the EU market
• Consumers have been confused by what to collect
  or not
• Inefficiencies in national battery collection, no
  targets

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2. Battery Directive Scope

• All batteries and accumulators placed on the EU
  market
• Excluded from the scope batteries and
  accumulators used in equipment connected to the
  protection of the essential security interests of
  the Member States space
• New Directive applies to all batteries and
  accumulators as they all contain substances which
  are to a certain extent harmful to the
  environment

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2. Battery Directive Content

• Environmental Objectives
• Environmental protection and functioning of the
  internal market
• Concern about waste and resource management
  because of metals
• Incineration contributes to air emissions
• Landfill results in leachate
• Recovery of valuable metals possible

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2. Battery Directive Content

• Internal market objective
• Harmonized product requirements for batteries
• Restriction of the use of certain substances
• Labeling requirements

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2. Battery Directive Content

• Prohibited to place on the EU market
• All batteries or accumulators that contain more
  than 0.0005 of mercury by weight
• Portable batteries or accumulators that contain
  more than 0.002 cadmium by weight
• In the case of cadmium exemptions are granted
  for
• Emergency lighting and alarm systems
• Medical equipment
• Cordless power tools
• There is another exception for mercury

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2. Battery Directive Collection scheme

• Member States shall ensure that collection
  schemes are in place while achieving the
  following collection rates portable batteries
• 25 after 4 year
• 45 after 8 year
• Obligation to recycle all collected batteries and
  recycling targets
• Ban on land-filling and incineration of
  industrial and automotive batteries
• Removability requirements with exceptions
• Producers are paying for the different issues

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2. Battery Directive Labeling requirements

• Crossed-out dustbin
• Chemical symbols (Hg, Cd or Pd) when maximum
  concentration levels are exceeded
• Capacity labelling