Battery Legislation
Waste Battery Legislation
If you are a business who produces waste batteries, it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with current waste battery legislation and that this waste if correctly collected, recycled and disposed of.
There are several/numerous pieces of UK and international legislation that affect the storage, collection and recycling of waste batteries, including the Waste Battery and Accumulator regulations (amended 2015), the Hazardous Waste regulations 2016, the Environment Protection Act 1990 etc, and they are enforced by a variety of different bodies, including the Environment Agency in England and Wales, SEPA in Scotland and the Environment and Heritage Agency in Northern Ireland, as well as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (formerly VOSA) regards the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and some international organisations for Trans Frontier shipping.
It is important that the legislation is properly understood and that any business who generates waste batteries utilises a compliant collection and recycling service to dispose of their waste.
A Simple Summary – How To Comply with Waste Battery Legislation
It’s important to understand that the waste producer is the one who is responsible for the correct disposal of batteries. Despite this, however, the team here at PBR are here to support and guide you every step of the way, ensuring that you’re able to correctly and accurately describe the type of batteries which need collecting. And, of course, if you have any concerns about how to describe your waste batteries, please do not hesitate to call us.
By law, waste producers must follow specific rules and guidelines which cover the collection, treatment, recycling and export. This is in addition to complying with hazardous waste regulation requirements.
Batteries are split into three main categorisations, these being:
- Automotive batteries
- Industrial batteries
- Portable batteries
Each category of battery comes with slightly different regulations.
The purpose of the Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive is, first and foremost, to help protect the environment by:
- enforcing compulsory collection and recycling of batteries
- preventing batteries from incineration or from ending up in landfills
- restricting the substances used in batteries
PBR are an approved and regulated Approved Battery Treatment Operator (ABTO), offering fully compliant collection, storage, recycling and disposal services for waste batteries. This means that we’re able to:
- Treat and recycle waste portable batteries and issue compliant evidence notes on them
- Treat and recycle waste industrial and automotive batteries
Our specialists have considerable experience in the safe and compliant recycling and disposal of waste batteries as well as a detailed understanding as to the regulations and environmental policies.
Ensuring Correct Storage of Waste Batteries
As the producer of waste batteries you also have a duty of care to make sure that your battery waste is correctly stored at your premises before being collected and that it is subsequently taken to its destination for recycling with reference to the current legislation that applies.
Again, we are here to fully advise and support you on this.
The Penalties For Non-Compliance
The penalties for non-compliance with the issues legislation are severe and both unlimited fines and / or up to 2 years imprisonment can be enforced.
Book A Collection
From collection through to storage, recycling and disposal, when you use PBR, it’s quick and easy to dispose of your waste batteries, giving you peace of mind than you’re fully compliant in the process.