EU agrees on new battery recycling plan
The European Union has agreed on new rules for collecting and recycling batteries to limit pollution caused when they are incinerated or buried in leaky landfill sites.
The programme could cost the industry at least €200m.
Representatives of the European Parliament, EU governments and the European Commission agreed late yesterday on rules that have been under fierce discussion since they were first suggested in 2003, the European Parliament said in a Brussels statement
Programmes to protect nature and rubbish dumps from the often toxic substances contained in batteries are to be set up in all 25 EU countries by 2008.
The new rules impose targets for collecting used batteries ranging from regular AA batteries to those used in mobile phones and laptops.
By 2012, a quarter of all batteries sold must be collected once they run out. By 2016, the target will rise to 45 per cent. The rules also determine how they must be recycled once collected.
