EUROPEAN BATTERY COLLECTION STILL NOWHERE NEAR THE REQUIRED LEVEL

Battery recycling is not going well at all. Only 14.5 per cent of batteries sold in Europe are reused. The 2008 European figures show a slight decrease in the number of recycled disposable batteries. There is a silver lining, however: the processing of the number of rechargeable batteries is rising. This ensures an overall growth of 1 per cent. The European battery recycling organisation EBRA is calling on countries to do better. The Recycling Netwerk supports this. We must focus more on rechargeable batteries. This could be seen as a wonderful environmental innovation if they conquer the market.

By 2012, all EU members must meet the target of 25 per cent. The Netherlands already meets this average, but there are still countries that fall far below it. In 2008, only 27,600 of the total 190,000 tonnes of batteries sold in Europe were recycled. Recycling of disposable batteries fell by 4.6 per cent, while recycling of rechargeable batteries rose by 44 per cent. To get that European average to 25 per cent within three years, quite a lot needs to happen, states the EBRA.

Moreover, the targets of the European directive still only represent a minority of batteries being recycled. Collection cannot keep pace with the strong growth in battery sales: every year there are more disposable batteries in the waste. And almost 90% of batteries are still non-rechargeable; nothing is being achieved in terms of waste prevention either.

According to the European directive, the percentage of battery recycling must be at 45 per cent in 2016. If the increase in battery use continues as expected, almost twice as many batteries will have to be collected in 2016 as is currently the case. The stagnation of the past four years is not very promising in this respect.

Yet, batteries offer a golden opportunity to prevent waste by focusing on rechargeable batteries, says the Recycling Netwerk. Rechargeable batteries could be seen as a wonderful environmental innovation if they were to conquer the market. But the vast majority of batteries are still non-rechargeable.

Battery recycling is not going well at all. Only 14.5 per cent of batteries sold in Europe are reused. The 2008 European figures show a slight decrease in the number of recycled disposable batteries. There is a silver lining, however: the processing of the number of rechargeable batteries is rising. This ensures an overall growth of 1 per cent. The European battery recycling organisation EBRA is calling on countries to do better. The Recycling Netwerk supports this. We must focus more on rechargeable batteries. This could be seen as a wonderful environmental innovation if they conquer the market.

By 2012, all EU members must meet the target of 25 per cent. The Netherlands already meets this average, but there are still countries that fall far below it. In 2008, only 27,600 of the total 190,000 tonnes of batteries sold in Europe were recycled. Recycling of disposable batteries fell by 4.6 per cent, while recycling of rechargeable batteries rose by 44 per cent. To get that European average to 25 per cent within three years, quite a lot needs to happen, states the EBRA. Moreover, the targets of the European directive still only represent a minority of batteries being recycled. Collection cannot keep pace with the strong growth in battery sales: every year there are more disposable batteries in the waste. And almost 90% of batteries are still non-rechargeable; nothing is being achieved in terms of waste prevention either. According to the European directive, the percentage of battery recycling must be at 45 per cent in 2016. If the increase in battery use continues as expected, almost twice as many batteries will have to be collected in 2016 as is currently the case. The stagnation of the past four years is not very promising in this respect. Yet, batteries offer a golden opportunity to prevent waste by focusing on rechargeable batteries, says the Recycling Netwerk. Rechargeable batteries could be seen as a wonderful environmental innovation if they were to conquer the market. But the vast majority of batteries are still non-rechargeable.