International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

Cadmium was, until recently, a component of one of the most widely used
rechargeable batteries and according to the Commission proposal itself, 75% of the
2,638 tonnes cadmium used in the EU-15 are incorporated in batteries and
accumulators. Of these 1,984 tons, between 75% and 80% are used in the
production of portable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries. This corresponds to
quantities between 1,488 and 1,587 tonnes of cadmium.
The Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC) repeals Directive 91/157/EEC on Batteries
and Accumulators Containing Certain Dangerous Substances, which introduced a
limited range of environmental and product design requirements. The previous
Directive was somewhat weak because it only covered an estimated 7% of consumer
batteries on the EU market. In the words of the Commission the original Directive
“has not succeeded in controlling adequately the risks they [batteries] pose”. There
was also heavy resistance from industry and it was acknowledged that more research
on certain substances was needed before more complete regulations were issued.
When the Directive was revised to cover a wider range of batteries, all actors in the
waste management chain became involved, from producer to the consumer through
to collectors and reprocessors, rather than affecting product design with substance
bans that manufacturers claimed were unreasonable.
Consultations to revisions of the first battery Directive started in 1997, giving all
interested parties a voice in legislation and policy, especially in assessing the
directive’s economic, environmental and social impact.
The proposal for a new Batteries Directive was made by the European Commission on
24 November 2003, covering all batteries (for environmental and trade reasons).
Following negotiation, the new Directive was adopted on 6 September 2006 and
came into force on 26 September 2006.
All Member States were required to transpose the Directive into national law by 26
September 2008. At the time of writing only nine have made the transposition;
Austria, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain.
Three other Member States (Lithuania, Poland, Finland) have partially transposed the
Batteries Directive, and a warning from the EC that it will take infringement action
against member states if they do not “rapidly implement” the revised Batteries
Directive is likely to spur non-conforming countries into action.
Another principal driver for the policy is the sheer volume of battery waste that is
generated each year, the rate at which this has been growing in recent years and is
predicted to continue to grow. The European Commission’s Extended Impact
Assessment (COM(2003)723 final), (EIA)) which supported the proposal to introduce
the new Batteries Directive, estimated that the consumer battery market in Western
Europe 536 had grown by some 70%, in terms of units sold, between 1985 and
Paper, November 2003.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/batteries/pdf/exten_impact_assessment.pdf
536 EU 15 plus Norway and Switzerland.
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