Installers advised to get ready for EU Battery Directive

27 Aug 08

The new directive aims to reduce the environmental impact of waste batteries that are currently disposed of in landfill sites by ensuring that they are collected, treated and, where possible, recycled. This new piece of legislation covers portable batteries (such as torch batteries, AA, C Cell etc); industrial batteries (intruder alarm panel lead acid batteries); and vehicle batteries.

BSIA technical director Alex Carmichael said: "Installers may believe that this new piece of legislation only affects those producers who supply batteries. However, this is not the case. It will be up to the installer to collect the batteries wherever possible and dispose of them in the correct waste stream."

Battery box

“Installers already collect lead acid batteries for disposal. In the future it is expected that installers will collect the small AA and C Cell type batteries and return them to the waste stream instead of just throwing them in the bin. A simple method of achieving this is by having a battery box in the engineer's van.

"The new regulations will set in place a national waste mechanism for battery collection and also describes battery labelling requirements, restrictions on the type of materials batteries can be made of, and requirements for the ease of battery removal from an appliance. The BSIA and its members are looking at the necessary systems to put in place to ensure compliance with the new regulations and to meet the 29th September 2009 deadline when the full requirements come into effect.

"The Battery Directive is a worthy piece of legislation and will make a real contribution to protecting the environment. It is now up to the industry to ensure that its businesses are prepared to make the introduction of the legislation as seamless as possible."

Get the latest stories first with info4security's newsletters: Click to signup

Post and bookmark this story at the following sites:

What is this?

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit	Google	Newsvine