With less than eight months to go, there is still no sign of the final draft of the UK’s Waste Battery Recycling Regulations.

We know the Government are set on multiple schemes but with a proposed entry cost of £169,000 per scheme per annum, it is unlikely we will end up with more than three schemes. Producers and retailers are anxious that costs will not spiral that competition ensures efficiency in the long term.

BatteryBack, launched last year by WasteCare, has given the industry a low cost solution that challenges collectors and recyclers alike. With an entry cost of one pence per battery no one has yet challenged this model. Ali West who is coordinating the UK roll-out explains, “With a target of 25 per cent to be recycled by 2012 the clock is ticking. If we do not provide a solution now, then we fear panic will set in as the implementation date approaches”.

BatteryBack has already provided over 1000 free collection points in the UK for all types of batteries. This is expected to rise to over 80,000 collection points in preparation for the increase of the recycling target to 45 per cent in 2016. If you want to help recycle batteries then contact BatteryBack.org today.

Timetable

• Final Draft Regulations – expected May 2009
• Regulations passed into law – expected July 2009
• Regulations take effect – January 2010