Extended Producer Responsibility for Batteries

It is not yet known what specific proposals Government will seek industry views on when they hold a public consultation. It is however expected that reforms will:

• Seek to encourage higher recycling rates for non-lead acid portable batteries
• Resolve the imbalance in the reporting of waste batteries across chemistry types
• Explore the potential merits of increasing the waste battery collection points network, for example through encouraging greater kerbside collections, or instructing more distributors to take back waste batteries

The Government will attempt to introduce EPR throughout the UK’s wider resources and waste sector. It is expected that proposals to reform the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations will seek to:

• • Ensure fees payable by batteries producers more closely reflect treatment costs

and

• Sufficiently fund communications to boost consumer awareness of the importance of battery recycling
• Address non-complying internet sellers of batteries
• Install new mandatory recycling labelling requirements

Following the UK’s separation from the EU and per the terms of the trade agreement signed in December 2020, Northern Ireland remains a UK nation but must continue to abide by EU rules in multiple regulatory areas. This means that the EU’s rules governing batteries and waste batteries producer responsibility continue to apply to Northern Ireland.

In late 2020, the European Commission proposed to repeal and replace their existing batteries producer responsibility rules to establish new labelling requirements, recycling, and recycled content targets, and EPR requirements for producers and distributors for batteries.

If accepted, it is proposed that these rules will apply to all EU Member States as well as Northern Ireland. As a result, Northern Ireland may be subject to different batteries producer responsibility rules in comparison to Great Britain should the UK Government not choose to emulate the EU’s proposed rules.