Consumers will have to pay more for their batteries because of the new battery regulations, an industry expert has suggested. Recycling firm WasteCare chief executive Peter Hunt claims that manufacturers will have to increase the price of batteries to cover their collection and competitive costs.
His comments come after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published an advisory note entitled "Storage and transport of portable batteries", which aims to assist stakeholders, retailers and collectors in understanding what they need to do when collecting and transporting waste batteries.
From 1 February 2010, retailers who sell 32kg of batteries or more per year are obliged to provide take-back facilities for consumers. The Department for Transport has introduced rules for the transport by road of up to 333kg of mixed waste batteries. Retailers will not be allowed to carry more than 333kg of waste batteries in their vans which take them to recycling facilities. If they wish to carry more than 333kg then they will have to comply with the full carriage of dangerous goods by road legislation (ADR).
Hunt commented, "Unlike the rest of Europe, we have four separate versions of the same regulations. Retailers, collectors and recyclers of batteries are faced with different interpretations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And the confusion doesn't end there. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has only just announced that the Buxton H&S Laboratories are soon to begin research into the best storage and handling methods for batteries. The problem is that we do not know when they will give us the results and it will certainly not be before next February.
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