It this week adopted a Proposal for a new Battery Directive, which will require the collection and recycling of all batteries placed on the EU market – and prevent spent batteries ending up in incinerators or landfills.
The proposed Directive aims to create an EU-wide framework for national battery collection and recycling schemes.
Under the rules, consumers as well as businesses will have to contribute to environmental protection by bringing back their spent batteries to collection points. The Commission estimates that the additional annual costs of the proposed collection and recycling rates per household will be between one and two Euros.
The plans also mean that thousands of tonnes of metals, including valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt and silver, can be recovered if batteries do not go to landfills or incinerators.