B3.8.2 E&W Other Waste Legislation
Animal By-Products Regulations 2005 SI 2347
Sets out detailed controls on how animal by-products must be handled, used and disposed of.
End of Life Vehicles Regulations 2003 SI 2635
Requires vehicle producers to set up collection, treatment and disposal systems to make sure that components in vehicles can be recovered, reused and recycled at the end of their life.
End-of-Life Vehicles (Producer Responsibility) Regulations 2005 SI 263
Requires vehicle producers to register and declare responsibility for vehicles they place on the market and apply for approval of their system of collecting vehicles.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 SI 3289
Aims to reduce the amount of WEEE sent to landfill. Requires producers of electrical and electronic equipment to register and cover the costs of collecting, treating, recovering and disposing of equipment when it reaches the end of its life.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2007 SI 3454
Amends 2006/3289 to encourage prioritising re-use of whole appliances in the WEEE system.
The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 [SI 890]
The EU Batteries Directive [2006/66/EC] introduced stricter rules on manufacturing and recycling batteries and accumulators (rechargeable batteries). These include:
- Rules on battery recycling and collection
- New requirements on battery labelling and design.
This Directive was implemented via the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 [SI 890]
Portable batteries
- Producers of portable batteries other than small producers each finance the costs of collection, treatment and recycling of a share of all the portable batteries placed on the market for the first time in the United Kingdom.
- Producers of portable batteries other than small producers to join a battery compliance scheme and such membership exempts a producer from its financing obligation and the need to demonstrate individual compliance with that obligation.
- Scheme members must provide information to battery compliance schemes, keep records and provide information to the appropriate authority.
- Where a producer of portable batteries withdraws from a battery compliance scheme, it must join another scheme within a specified time and in the meantime must fulfil its financing obligation itself, ensure that the batteries it collects are delivered for treatment and recycling, keep records, and make quarterly reports and an annual declaration of compliance to the appropriate authority.
- A scheme operator must finance the sum of its members’ collection, treatment and recycling obligations, as well as the costs of collection, treatment and recycling of any waste batteries it collects in excess of those obligations and the costs of a scheme information campaign.
- Scheme operators must ensure that all waste batteries they collect are delivered for treatment and recycling to an approved battery treatment operator or an approved exporter.
- Scheme operators must report on the amounts of batteries placed on the market for the first time in the UK by their members, the amounts of waste batteries collected by them and delivered for treatment and recycling, and must make an annual declaration of compliance with their financing obligations. Part 2 of Schedule 1 contains the details which must be included in such a declaration.
- Distributors of portable batteries must take back waste portable batteries free of charge. The requirement does not apply to small distributors. Scheme operators must arrange on request for the pickup from distributors of the waste batteries taken back. They must also accept waste portable batteries from economic operators at facilities provided by the scheme operators.
Automotive and industrial batteries
- Producers of industrial batteries must take back waste industrial batteries free of charge from end-users of such batteries on request. However, producers of industrial and automotive batteries may enter into contracts making alternative arrangements for financing the costs of the collection, treatment and recycling of waste batteries.
- Producers of industrial and automotive batteries must ensure that all waste batteries they take back or collect are delivered for treatment and recycling to an approved battery treatment operator or an approved exporter.
- Producers must report on and keep records of the amount of batteries placed by them on the market for the first time in the UK and the amount of waste batteries collected by them and delivered for treatment and recycling.
- Producers must be registered with the Secretary of State and to notify any changes in the registration information. Schedule 2 sets out the information which must be supplied with an application for registration.
All categories of battery
- Prohibits the disposal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of waste industrial or automotive batteries in landfill or by incineration.
- Prohibits the treatment and recycling of waste industrial or automotive batteries by anyone other than an approved battery treatment operator or an approved battery exporter who has accepted those waste batteries at a site to which their approval relates.
The Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 came into effect on 26 September 2008.
- These Regulations apply to batteries and accumulators and to certain electrical and electronic equipment that are placed on the market on or after 26th September 2008.
- They do not apply to batteries or accumulators used in certain equipment connected with the protection of the essential security interests of EEA states and equipment designed to be sent into space.
- Batteries and accumulators must not contain more than the permissible levels of mercury or cadmium.
- Batteries, accumulators and battery packs must be marked with the crossed out wheeled bin symbol.
- Batteries and accumulators that contain more than the specified levels of mercury, cadmium or lead must be marked with the appropriate chemical symbol.
- Certain electrical and electronic equipment into which a battery is or may be incorporated must be designed in such a way that a waste battery or accumulator can be readily removed from that appliance; and must be accompanied by instructions showing how the battery or accumulator can be removed safely and, where appropriate, informing the end-user of the type of the incorporated battery or accumulator. There is an exception where for safety, performance, medical or data integrity reasons continuity of power supply is necessary and requires a permanent connection between the equipment and the battery or accumulator.