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The idea is similar to the producer responsibility schemes set up to ensure that the manufacturers and retailers of electrical goods must pay for the management of the waste when they reach the end of their life.
The recycling regulations require companies placing batteries on the market to register as a producer and report on waste batteries collected and sent for recycling.
They also set targets for recycling rates and introduce a ban on the landfilling of industrial batteries.
From February next year, larger retailers of batteries will be obliged to set up in-store collection points and report on recovery rates.
Economic and Business Minister Ian Pearson said: “These regulations will help reduce the environmental impact of batteries and accumulators, which contain potentially harmful material.
“We are committed to helping minimise the impact on the environment of this kind of waste and this is the latest measure to help us achieve a cleaner environment.”
The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 transposes an EU directive aiming to reduce battery waste into British law.
Sam Bond
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