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New Regulations on Batteries: Mixed Reaction
| | Better late than never. At the end of April the new legislation was passed by the lower house of the German parliament. The approval of the upper house due in mid-May is considered a mere formality. Thus the matter is settled – German legislation will then conform to European law and although it comes seven months too late, it is still within the period of grace. The reactions of associations, collectors and recyclers sound mostly positive, but there are still some isolated voices of criticism.
Elena Rüth
The EU Commission actually wanted to have the battery directive implemented throughout Europe by 26 September last year. Germany, however, like most of the other EU states, was lagging behind. The Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) indicated that the directive would come into force during the fourth quarter of 2009 at the earliest, but then everything happened very quickly.
Battery regulations being superseded
The new battery legislation is identified by the code number 16/2227. It therefore supersedes the battery legislation valid in Germany to date and means a number of changes for both manufacturers and collectors (see frame). As far as future collection targets are concerned, German legislation clearly exceeds the stipulations of the European Union. The EU stipulates that by 2012 at least 25 per cent of the batteries sold must be collected. By the year 2016 the quota to be achieved is 35 per cent according to EU requirements. In Germany the collection targets are far higher.
Photo: Bilderbox
The new regulations are on the way. The collection targets are high, but realistic.
“No problem,” says Jürgen Fricke, Chairman of the Board of the foundation for the collection of used batteries (GRS) optimistically. A look at the annual report of 2008 explains his confident tone: last year GRS had already collected 14,200 tons of batteries and accumulators, representing 42 per cent of all those sold within Germany and this figure is already seven per cent above the collection target for 2012. However, Fricke regards the target for 2016 as a real challenge. “This requires the cooperation of all those involved – consumers, retailers, commerce and local councils.”
According to § 13, the local councils are released from the obligation to collect and therefore the management of GRS appeals to the public waste disposal authorities to “continue accepting batteries and accumulators from consumers.”
Compulsory registration as a sensible step
GRS also regards the compulsory registration of manufacturers at the Federal Environment Agency as a very positive step. “We expect that from now on no manufacturer will be able to shrink from the obligation to accept returned batteries and shoulder the costs involved.” Above all this obligation should effectively sort out the freeloaders.
At Interseroh the new legislation is also seen as positive. Among other services the Cologne-based company arranges the collection of batteries for GRS. Interseroh supplies retailers and industrial companies throughout Germany with collection boxes, picks them up again and transports them to the sorting plants. The high collection targets are particularly pleasing for director Roland Stroese: “Thanks to the establishment of new standardised collection targets for appliance batteries we are expecting further growth, especially in other European countries.”
Apart from the positive impact on the environment and the recycling economy, one other point with regard to the new collection quotas should, of course, not be forgotten: the increased number of batteries collected will also create an economic incentive for both collectors and recyclers at the same time.
bvse criticises short-sightedness of politicians
The Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Disposal (bvse) singled out the catchword “collector” for critical comment. Access to the market is blocked for collectors of vehicle and industrial batteries, says the association.
The waste disposal association is not really satisfied with the new legislation, as it is of the opinion that an important point has been omitted: to make sure that a pluralistic market is maintained for collectors of vehicle and industrial batteries. “The members of parliament have not yet sufficiently recognised the danger of oligopolisation,” commented the bvse press spokesman Jörg Lacher.
The association specifically criticises paragraph 8, which deals with the return of used vehicle and industrial batteries and states that the manufacturers and sellers must offer “a reasonable means of return, free of charge.” According to the bvse this opens the door for manufacturers to accept more returned used batteries themselves. It also effectively closes the door for all commercial battery collection companies.
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