Batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators

The Commission presented a report on the implementation of EU waste legislation for the period 2010-2012.

Of the 27 Member States under the obligation to report, most have submitted replies to the implementation questionnaires for the directives this report covers, namely:

·         Directive 2008/98/EC on waste,

·         Directive 86/278/EEC on sewage sludge,

·         Directive 1999/31/EC on landfilling,

·         Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste,

·         Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE),

·         Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators.

Quality of reporting: not all Member States have fulfilled the obligation laid down in the Directives to report to the Commission on their implementation every three years. Some did not submit replies to the Implementation Questionnaire 2010-2012.

The Commission noted the highly variable nature of the quality and accuracy of the reports and information provided. Answers frequently only referred to national legislation or to answers given in previous reporting periods, without providing further information on the implementation of the directives on the ground, even when this was explicitly requested.

The Commission considered that the triennial implementation reports prepared by the Member States have not proven effective for verifying compliance with the directives, their implementation and their impact.

Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators: all Member States have transposed the requirements of the Directive.

The main findings are as follows:

·         most Member States have set up collection systems and measures for the treatment and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators: by September 2012, 20 Member States had achieved the minimum collection target of 25%; 4 Member States had achieved 100% recycling while 8 Member States notified rates of between 50% and 99%;

·         Member States have introduced measures to prevent waste batteries and accumulators from being landfilled. 11 Member States have implemented measures which go beyond the obligations of the Directive, such as minimising waste from industrial and automotive batteries and accumulators as unsorted municipal waste, awareness campaigns in schools and the provision of collection points for free pick-up;

·         19 Member States have achieved and / or exceeded recycling rates of recycling of lead-acid battery and accumulator waste, nickel-cadmium battery and accumulator waste and other waste batteries and accumulators;

·         2 Member States have exported waste batteries and accumulators to third countries. A number of Member States have exported them to other Member States;

·         Member States without treatment or recycling facilities have exported all the batteries and accumulators collected. However, some Member States with processing facilities have exported waste batteries and accumulators for processing elsewhere in the EU.

General conclusions: the Commission considered that Member States should make greater efforts to improve the quality, reliability and comparability of data for assessing waste management performance. They could do this by benchmarking reporting methodologies and introducing a data quality check report, so that when reporting on the achievement of the targets set out in the legislation, Member States use the most recent and harmonised methodology.

The Commission recalled that in the recent review of waste policy and legislation, it proposed to repeal provisions obliging Member States to produce triennial implementation reports and to base compliance monitoring exclusively on quality statistical data that Member States must provide the Commission with annually.