Final Implementation Report for the Directive 2006/66/EC on Batteries and Accumulators

Transcription

1 Final Implementation Report for the Directive 2006/66/EC on Batteries and Accumulators Service request under the framework contract No ENV.C.2/FRA/2013/ July 2015

2 Report for DG Environment, European Commission Prepared by: Christina Tsiarta Steven Watson Joe Hudson Approved by. Mike Brown (Project Director) Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd 37 Queen Square Bristol BS1 4QS United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Web: Disclaimer Eunomia Research & Consulting has taken due care in the preparation of this report to ensure that all facts and analysis presented are as accurate as possible within the scope of the project. However no guarantee is provided in respect of the information presented, and Eunomia Research & Consulting is not responsible for decisions or actions taken on the basis of the content of this report. This report has been prepared by Eunomia Research and Consulting based in the UK and its partners, ENT Environment and Management based in Spain, EPEM S.A. based in Greece, Ekokonsultacijos based in Lithuania and the Environmental Research Institute based in Slovenia (ORZ) for the European Commission, DG Environment under Study Contract DG ENV.C.2/FRA/2013/0023. The views expressed herein are those of the consultants alone and do not necessarily represent the official views of the European Commission.

3 Contents 1.0 Introduction The Batteries Directive Main Elements of the Batteries Directive About this Report Key Definitions Member State Implementation Questionnaires Considered for this Report Transposition into National Law Implementation of the Directive Steps Taken to Increase the Environmental Performance of Batteries and Accumulators Implementation of Collection Schemes Collection Targets Measures Taken to Ensure Proper Treatment and Recycling of Waste Batteries and Accumulators Disposal of Collected Hazardous Portable Batteries or Accumulators Levels of Recycling Levels of Recycling Efficiency Measures Taken to Ensure that Batteries and Accumulators are not Sent to Landfill Measures Taken to Minimise the Disposal of Batteries and Accumulators as Mixed Municipal Waste Exports of Waste Batteries and Accumulators to Third Countries Measures Taken to Ensure that Producers are Responsible for Financing Measures to Ensure Producers are Not Double Charged Measures Taken to Encourage Developments Inspections and Monitoring Systems Non-compliance Difficulties Implementing the Directive Administrative Body in Charge of Coordinating Answers to the Implementation Questionnaire

4 4.0 General Conclusions on the Implementation of the Directive Identified Limitations of Reporting Suggestions for Improving Member State Reporting Concluding Remarks APPENDICES A.1.0 Appendix 1 Table of Member State Implementation Questionnaires

5 List of Tables, Figures and Boxes Table 3.1: Collection Rates across the EU27 for Table 3.2: Collection Rates in the Czech Republic, Table 3.3: Collection Rates in Germany, Table 3.4: Collection Rates in Luxembourg, Table 3.5: Collection Rates in Poland, Table 3.6: Collection Rates in Sweden, Table 3.7: Recycling Levels across the EU27 for Table 3.8: Recycling Levels in the Czech Republic, Table 3.9: Recycling Levels in France, Table 3.10: Recycling Levels in Germany, Table 3.11: Mass of Portable Batteries to Landfill in Germany, Table 3.12: Recycling Levels in Lithuania, Table 3.13: Recycling Levels in Slovakia, Table 3.14: Recycling Levels in Slovenia, Table 3.15: Recycling Levels in Sweden, Table 3.16: Recycling Efficiency Rates across the EU27 for Table 3.17: Levels of Recycling Efficiencies in the Czech Republic, Table 3.18: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in France, Table 3.19: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in Germany, Table 3.20: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in Hungary, Table 3.21: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in Luxembourg, Table 3.22: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in the Netherlands, Table 3.23: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in Slovakia, Table 3.24: Level of Recycling Efficiencies in Sweden, Table 3.25: Exports to EU Member States and/or Third Countries Table 3.26: Exports from France of Waste Batteries and Accumulators, Table 3.27: Exports from Germany of Waste Batteries and Accumulators, Table 3.28: Exports from Germany of Waste Batteries and Accumulators Other than Lead or Nickel-Cadmium, Table 3.29: Exports from Slovenia of Waste Batteries and Accumulators,

6 Table 3.30: Exports from the UK of Portable Waste Batteries and Accumulators Table 3.31: Exports from the UK of Automotive Waste Batteries and Accumulators, Table 3.32: Data on Producers, Importers and Distributors of Batteries in Lithuania Table A. 1: Member State Implementation Questionnaires

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8 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The Batteries Directive Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators 1 (hereafter referred to as the Batteries Directive or the Directive) was adopted in 2006 and has been subject to a number of revisions since. It regulates the placing on the market and collection, treatment, recycling and disposal of batteries in the European Union (EU) with the aim of improving their environmental performance. It sets maximum quantities for certain chemicals and metals in certain batteries; tasks Member States with encouraging improvements to the environmental performance of batteries; requires proper waste management of these batteries, including recycling, collections, take-back programs and disposal; sets waste battery collection rates; sets financial responsibility for programs; and makes rules covering most phases of this legislation, including labelling, marking documentation, reviews, and other administrative and procedural matters. The last amendments to the Directive were incorporated in Main Elements of the Batteries Directive 3 The Directive applies to all types of batteries and accumulators and prohibits the placing on the market of certain batteries and accumulators with a proportional mercury or cadmium content above a fixed threshold. In addition, it promotes a high rate of collection and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators and improvement in the environmental performance of all involved in the life-cycle of batteries and accumulators, including their recycling and disposal. To cut the amount of hazardous substances - in particular, mercury, cadmium and lead - dumped in the environment, the Directive prohibits the use of these substances in batteries and accumulators and requests treating and re-using the amounts that are used. To ensure that a high proportion of spent batteries and accumulators are recycled, Member States must take whatever measures are needed (including economic instruments) to promote and maximise separate waste collections and prevent batteries and accumulators being thrown away as unsorted municipal refuse. They have to make arrangements enabling end-users to discard spent batteries and accumulators at 1 Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive 91/157/EEC (OJ L 266 of ) 2 DG Environment (2015) Batteries and Accumulators - Legislation, accessed 23 January 2015, 3 EUROPA (2009) Disposal of spent batteries and accumulators, accessed 23 June 2015, Page 7 of 175

9 collection points in their vicinity and have them taken back at no charge by the producers. Collection rates of at least 25% and 45% have to be reached by 26 September 2012 and 26 September 2016 respectively. The recycling of battery and accumulator content to produce similar products or for other purposes has to reach the following levels by 26 September 2011: at least 65% by average weight of lead-acid batteries and accumulators, including the recycling of the lead content to the highest degree that is technically feasible; 75% by average weight of nickel-cadmium batteries and accumulators, including the recycling of the lead content to the highest degree that is technically feasible; and at least 50% by average weight of other battery and accumulator waste. It is prohibited to put waste from industrial and automotive batteries and accumulators into landfill, or to incinerate it. Treatment and recycling may take place outside the Member State concerned or even outside the Community, provided EU legislation on the shipment of waste is respected. The producers have to bear the cost of collecting, treating and recycling industrial, automotive and portable batteries and accumulators, as well as the costs of campaigns to inform the public of these arrangements. End-users are to be informed in various ways, i.e. (i) through campaigns covering the potential effects on the environment and human health of the substances used in batteries and accumulators, and the collection and recycling arrangements at the endusers' disposal, (ii) directly by distributors that they can discard waste batteries and accumulators at sales points and (iii) marking batteries, accumulators, battery packs or packaging systems (depending on the size) visibly, legibly and indelibly with information on the need to dispose them properly, the capacity of the accumulator or the portable battery and on the substances contained. Member States must send the Commission reports on the implementation of the Directive and the measures they are taking to encourage developments affecting the impact of batteries and accumulators on the environment (including new recycling and treatment techniques). The main obligations of the Batteries Directive are: 1) Transposition 2) Environmental performance (Article 9) a. Article 9 requires Member States to have taken steps to increase the environmental performance of batteries and accumulators. 3) Collection Schemes and Targets (Article 8 and 10) a. Article 8 requires Member States to discuss collection schemes they have implemented and the collection rates achieved in each calendar year; and b. Article 10 requires Member States to calculate and monitor the collection rates and achieve the minimum collection rates outlined i.e. at least 25% Page 8 of 175

10 and 45% have to be reached by 26 September 2012 and 26 September 2016 respectively. 4) Treatment and Recycling (Article 12 (1) and Annex III, Part B) a. Article 12 (1) requires Member States to explain the measures they have taken to ensure that all collected waste batteries and accumulators undergo proper treatment and recycling, to explain how they dispose of hazardous portable batteries and accumulators and discuss the level of recycling and efficiency achieved each year; and b. Annex III, Part B sets out the minimum recycling efficiencies that Member States must achieve as outlined above. 5) Disposal (Article 14) a. Article 14 requires Member States to describe the measures taken to ensure waste industrial and automotive batteries and accumulators are not disposed of in landfills, and to minimise the disposal as mixed municipal waste. 6) Exports (Article 15) a. Article 15 requires Member States to specify how many collected waste batteries and accumulators have been exported to third countries, and to which ones About this Report The European Commission (DG Environment) (hereafter referred to as the Commission) awarded a contract to Eunomia Research and Consulting based in the UK, together with its partners, ENT Environment and Management based in Spain, EPEM S.A. based in Greece, Ekokonsultacijos based in Lithuania and the Environmental Research Institute based in Slovenia (ORZ) to assess and summarize the information submitted by Member States to allow the preparation of an Implementation Report on the Batteries Directive for (DG ENV.C.2/FRA/2013/0023). This Implementation Report for the Batteries Directive is a synopsis of the replies submitted by Member States to the Implementation Questionnaire covering the period , pursuant to European Commission Implementing Decision of This is the first report of its kind, as 2011 was the first year Member States were required to complete the Implementation Questionnaire for the Batteries Directive following the Commission Decision in November Member States were required to submit replies to the Implementation Questionnaires for each Directive covered by this report for the period, as well as any other 4 Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2002 on waste statistics (OJ L 332/1 of ) Page 9 of 175

11 relevant information on the implementation of the aforementioned Directives to the Commission. The deadline set for Member States was 18 June However any information submitted by Member States up to the time of writing this report was also taken into consideration. 5 On certain occasions Member States may have omitted to submit a reply to a particular question or to any of the questions in the Implementation Questionnaire. In such cases it was necessary to consider other sources, where. Whenever a source other than the Batteries Directive Implementation Questionnaire replies for is used, that is indicated in the report. Examples include data published by EUROSTAT and the European Environment Agency, information found on EUR-Lex, 6 as well as any relevant documentation found on national websites of Member States. On such occasions if any discrepancies were identified between the reply submitted by Member States in the Implementation Questionnaire and any other sources considered, these have been noted and are discussed. In this report Sections 2.0 and 3.0 start off by setting out the questions as they appear in the Implementation Questionnaire followed by a top level summary of the Member State replies to each question for the period Section 4.0 presents concluding remarks. Appendix A.1.0 provides a tabular summary of the number of Member States across the European Union s (EU) 28 7 which have submitted replies to the Implementation Questionnaires to the Commission for the Batteries Directive for the period For practical reasons, the report does not always differentiate between direct quotes taken from Member States replies and re-phrased or shortened paragraphs. All due care has been taken in completing this synopsis. However, please note that the original replies submitted by Member States to the Implementation Questionnaire constitute the only authentic source of information Key Definitions The list below presents brief explanations of key terms used throughout this report: 5 The cut-off date was 31 December EUR-Lex website covering European and National Legislation and Commission Decisions on related Acts found at: [Accessed 16th April 2015] 7 The EU28 consists of: Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malta; the Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; and the UK. Please note Croatia joined the EU on 1 July Page 10 of 175

12 Implementation Questionnaire : The questionnaire issued to Member States on the implementation of the Batteries Directive on waste pursuant to Commission Implementing Decision of 2009/851/EC, 8 covering the period General Implementation Report : The Commission Report on the Implementation of Community Waste Legislation, which summarises the implementation of EU legislation on waste across all Member States for the period It covers Directive 2006/12/EC on waste, 10 Directive 91/689/EC on hazardous waste, 11 Directive 75/439/EEC on waste oils, 12 Directive 86/278/EEC on sewage sludge, 13 Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, 14 Directive1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste 15 and Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment. 16 It is based on the information provided in detailed reports for each Directive/Regulation. A separate report focuses on the Waste Shipment Regulation 17 for the same period (i.e ) and covers the implementation of Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on shipments of waste. 18. The General Implementation Report for the period will be the first report to include the replies by Member States in the Implementation Questionnaire for the Batteries Directive. 8 Commission Decision 2009/851/EC of 25 November 2009 establishing a questionnaire for Member States reports on the implementation of Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators (OJ L 312/56 of ) 9 European Commission (2013) Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the EU waste legislation for the period , January 2013, 10 Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste (OJ L 114/9 of ) 11 Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste (repealed) (OJ No L 377/20 of ) 12 Council Directive 75/439/EEC of 16 June 1975 on the disposal of waste oils (repealed) (OJ No L 194/23 of ) 13 Council Directive 86/278/EEC of 12 June 1986 on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture (OJ No L 181/6 of ) 14 European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste (OJ No L 365/10 of ) 15 Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182/1 of ) 16 Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (OJ L 37/24 of ) 17 European Commission (2012) Report from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste, within, into and out of the European Community, and on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste for the period , August 2012, 18 Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on Shipments of Waste (OJ L 190/1 of ) Page 11 of 175

13 Completeness: The assessment of completeness of each Member State reply in the Implementation Questionnaire In certain instances a Member State reply to a question in the Implementation Questionnaire may have been partially complete or non-existent and this has been noted where relevant Member State Implementation Questionnaires Considered for this Report Appendix A.1.0 presents in a table the Member States that submitted replies to the Implementation Questionnaire to the Commission (Table A. 1). As indicated by Table A. 1, 24 Member States submitted replies to the Implementation Questionnaires for , with only four Member States not submitting these to the Commission. These are Croatia; Denmark; Greece; and Latvia. Croatia became a Member State of the European Union on July 1 st 2013 and was therefore not required to implement this Directive during the reporting period ( ). This report therefore only mentions Croatia where relevant. For the other three Member States other sources of information have been considered, where possible, to include EUROSTAT, EUR-Lex, national legislation, national Waste Management Plans and national government agencies. It is also worth noting that Poland did not submit a reply to the Implementation Questionnaire but it did provide a fact sheet which answers some of the questions in the Implementation Questionnaire. This fact sheet has been considered where applicable for the purposes of this reporting. Page 12 of 175

14 2.0 Transposition into National Law Member States are required to transpose the Batteries Directive and its requirements into national legislation. Question (1) (a): Please provide a reference and, if, an electronic link to your national laws transposing Directive 2006/66/EC, including any amendments. Article 26 of the Batteries Directive is the article which is relevant to this question and concerns the transposition of the Directive. It requires Member States to bring laws, regulations and administrative procedures necessary to comply with its requirements into force by 26 September Question (1) (a) of the Implementation Questionnaire asks Member States to reference those national laws transposing the Directive. All reporting Member States (23) have transposed the Batteries Directive into national legislation, in line with Article 26. The detailed replies are provided below. Neither Croatia, Denmark, Greece nor Latvia submitted replies to the Implementation Questionnaire ; however in all cases other national legal acts and decisions were considered which transpose the Directive. In Croatia there s are the rules on the management of waste batteries and accumulators (NN 133/2006) which set out the provisions for the management of waste batteries and accumulators including financing and minimising their environmental impact. In Denmark there s a series of national legislation in place addressing prohibitions, collection schemes, economic instruments, treatment and recycling, financing, information for end-users, labelling and penalties. In Greece the Joint Ministerial Decision 41624/2057/E103 addresses recycling targets, prohibitions, collection schemes and alternative management, recycling and treatment, exports, financing and marking. In Latvia 19 the national Law on Natural Resource Tax; the Cabinet of Ministers regulation No Nr.485 ( ) on Management of special streams of hazardous waste; and the Law on Waste Management outline the responsibilities of producers and distributors to manage waste batteries and accumulators as set out in Chapter V. Member States replies are summarised below: Austria: Austria outlined the following pieces of national legislation which implement the Batteries Directive: (i) Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water on waste prevention, collection and treatment of Batteries and accumulators (batteries regulation), BGBl. II Nr. 159/2008, May 15, 2008 (Entry into force: May 16, 2008, and September 26, 2008); (ii) Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management on treatment obligations of waste (Waste Treatment Obligations Ordinance), BGBl. II Nr. 459/2004 of 3 December 2004, as amended BGBl. II Nr. 363/2006 of 25 September 2006 (Entry into force: 1 19 Found on the government portal ( or the Ministry of Environment website ( Page 13 of 175

15 January 2005 and 13 August 2005); and (iii) the Waste Management Act which was amended in 2002 ( AWG amendment Batteries), BGBl. I no. 54/2008 of 9 April 2008 (Entry into force: April 10, 2008, and September 26, 2008). Belgium: The Directive was transposed into Belgian legislation by the Royal Decree of 27 March 2009 on the placing on the market and end-user information of batteries and accumulators and repealing the Royal Decree of 17 March 1997 on batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous substances published on April 7, Various decrees also exist in each of the regions (Flemish, Brussels and Walloon) that transpose the Directive into national legislation, addressing the sustainable management of material cycles and waste, waste prevention and management, take-back obligations for waste batteries and accumulators for recovery or disposal and financing Bulgaria: The Regulation on the requirements for placing batteries and accumulators on the market and for treatment and transportation of waste batteries and accumulators, which entered into force on 1 January 2006 is the main piece of national law transposing the basic principles and requirements of the Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators (COM 2003(723) final). The above regulation was amended and supplemented in 2008 in order to fully transpose Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and entered into force on 20 January Based on a new Waste Management Act adopted on 13 July 2012 transposing the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, a Regulation on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators is the latest piece of relevant legislation drafted and it entered into force on 8 January Cyprus: The main piece of national law transposing the Directive is the Regulation on waste batteries and accumulators (2011) which addresses how to manage waste batteries and accumulators including their collection, treatment and disposal The Czech Republic: The main piece of legislation transposing the Directive is Act No 185/2001 on waste and amending certain other acts, as amended and the amendment to Act No 185/2001 (No 169/2013), as well as the Decree No 170/2010 on batteries and loi 23 &caller=list&fromtab=loi&tri=dd+as+rank 24 /decat027.htm 25 za BA i za NUBA.pdf 26 A?OpenDocument 27 A?OpenDocument Page 14 of 175

16 accumulators. 28 These pieces of legislation prescribe methods for demonstrating compliance with the conditions that need to be met when placing on the market batteries and accumulators, how they should be labelled and registered and their collection, treatment, recovery and disposal, including financing. Estonia: There s a series of national Estonian legislation transposing the Battery Directive into Estonian law. These address: waste management, labelling, registration requirements for producers, collection rates, targets for recycling and recovery, requirements for collection, treatment and disposal and financing Finland: Finland referred to its Waste Act 646/2011 which covers matters related to producer responsibility from 1 May Before that, the former Waste Act (1072/1993) was in force. 36 Also relevant was the Government Decree on batteries and accumulators (422/2008). 37 France: The transposition of Directive into national law is implemented by the Environmental Code, accompanied by three ministerial orders in France: (i) Decree of 18 November 2009 (OJ of 3/12/2009) amended by the Decree of 21 November 2011 (OG 30/11/2011) laying down the circumstances and conditions under which the obligations concerning cadmium levels in portable batteries do not apply; (ii) Decree of 18 November 2009 (OJ of 15/12/2009) concerning the registration process and statement to the National Register for batteries; and (iii) Order of 9 November 2009 (OJ of 14/11/2009) as amended by the Decree of 26 October 2011 (OJ 7/12/2011) on transit, grouping, sorting and treatment of batteries and accumulators (amended on October 26, 2011). These texts can be found on the website Légifrance. 38 Germany: Germany referenced a series of national legislation in its reply, which implement Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC, giving details on the relevant articles and clauses in each. The three main pieces of legislation are: (i) Batteriegesetz (i.e. the Battery Act or BattG) which outlines the steps that producers and distributors must follow to place batteries on the German market, including outlining the collection schemes they have signed up for and to outline reasonable take-back options; 39 (ii) 28 dc125727b ?opendocument; Page 15 of 175

17 Council Regulation on the implementation of the Batteriegesetzes (BattGDV) which implements the Batteries Act; 40 and Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) which sets the obligations involving the placing on the market of electrical and electronic equipment, take-back, treatment and recovery, the responsibilities of stakeholders and which are the relevant authorities. 41 Hungary: The following pieces of legislation transpose the Directive into national law: (i) Government Decree No 181/2008 of 8 July 2008 (repealed on 1 January 2013); (ii) Decree No 21/2008 of 30 August 2008 of the Minister for Environment and Water Protection (repealed on 1 January 2013); and (iii) Government Decree No 445/2012 of 29 December 2012, currently in force. 42 These address the management of waste and of products containing hazardous substances Ireland: Directive 2006/66/EC as amended is transposed into Irish national law by means of the following Statutory Instruments: (i) Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2008, S.I. No. 268 of 2008; 43 Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators) (Amendment) Regulations 2008, S.I. No. 556 of 2008; 44 and (ii) European Union (Batteries and Accumulators) (Amendment) Regulations 2012, S.I. No. 529 of These outline the take-back schemes for batteries, and what the obligations for importers and retailers are including financing. Italy: Directive 2006/66/EC was transposed in national law by (i) Legislative Decree No 188 of 20 November and (ii) Legislative Decree No 21 of 11 February , which corrected a series of errors found in Legislative Decree No 188/2008, improved the coordination of its provisions and brought its content in line with subsequently published Community provisions. These pieces of legislation address collection schemes and economic instruments to be used, how to increase environmental performance, collection targets and collection, treatment and disposal, labelling, information for endusers and penalties. Lithuania: Lithuania provided a long list of national legislation transposing the Directive, which address management of waste batteries and accumulators, information for end users, obligations for producers and distributors, collection systems, treatment and disposal Page 16 of 175

18 Luxembourg: The main pieces of national legislation transposing the Directive is the Act of December 19, 2008 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators ; 72 and the Act of March 21, 2012 relative to the management of waste, and amending the law of December 19, 2008 on batteries and accumulators and on waste batteries and accumulators. 73 These outline prohibitions, how to increase their environmental performance, obligations regarding placing on the market, take-back and collection schemes and targets, disposal and treatment, recycling and exports. Malta: The Batteries Directive was transposed through two pieces of legislation, one under the Product Safety Act, and another under the Environment Protection Act (later replaced by the Environment and Development Planning Act). These are as follows: (i) Batteries and Accumulators Regulations, 2007 published on 23 October (amended by The Batteries and Accumulators (Amendment) Regulations 2009) 75 and Legal Notice 311 of 2007 amended by The Batteries and Accumulators (Amendment) Regulations 2011 published on 29 July ; and (ii) Waste Management (Waste Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations, 2010 (Legal Notice 55 of 2010) under the Environment Protection Act which came into force on 28 May and was further amended by the Waste Management (Waste Batteries and Accumulators) (Amendment) Page 17 of 175

19 Regulations, 2011 published under the new act, the Environment and Development Planning Act. 78 The Netherlands: The Directive has been transposed by the Decree on the management of batteries and accumulators 2008 [Besluit beheer batterijen en accu's 2008]. 79 Subsequent amendments were also made in the 2008 Regulation on the management of batteries and accumulators [Regeling beheer batterijen en accu's 2008]. 80 Poland: 81 The Batteries and Accumulators Act of 24 April 2009 (Journal of Laws 2009/79, item 666, as amended) transposes the Directive into national law. It requires operators of treatment facilities for waste batteries and accumulators to draw up an annual report and send it to the president of the provincial executive by 15 March of the year following the reporting year. This report is to contain information on: the type and weight of waste batteries and accumulators accepted for treatment; the type and weight of waste batteries and accumulators treated; and the recycling rates achieved. Portugal: The Directive has been transposed to national law by Decree-Law 6/2009, of January 6th, that has been amended by the Statement of Rectification 18-A/2009, of March 6th, and Decree-Law 266/2009, of September 29th. 82 It addresses prohibitions, how to increase their environmental performance, obligations regarding placing on the market, take-back and collection schemes and targets, disposal and treatment, recycling and exports. Romania: Directive 2006/66/EC has been transposed into national law by Government Decision No 1132/2008 (Official Gazette No 667 of 25/9/2008) on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, amended by Government Decision No 1079/2011 (Official Gazette No 780 of 3/11/2011), and three ministerial orders: (i) Joint Order No 669/1304/2009 of the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Economic Affairs approving the registration procedure for manufacturers of batteries and accumulators; (ii) Joint Order No 1399/2032/2009 of the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Economic Affairs approving the procedure for recording and reporting data on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators; and (iii) Joint Order No 2743/3189/2011 of the Minister for the Environment and Forestry and the Minister for Economic Affairs, Trade and the Business Environment approving the procedure and criteria for the evaluation and authorisation Please note that Poland did not submit a reply to the Implementation Questionnaire Instead it submitted a report titled Report from Poland on the recycling rates achieved for waste batteries and accumulators in the period from 26 September 2008 to 26 September 2012 which is used as the basis for this reporting. However this report does not follow the questions of the Implementation Questionnaire and therefore replies are for only some of the questions Page 18 of 175

20 of collective organisations and the evaluation and approval of the operating plans of manufacturers fulfilling the obligations regarding the management of waste batteries and accumulators on their own, and the membership and tasks of the evaluation and authorisation committee, amended by Joint Order No 2366/1548/2012 of the Minister for the Environment and Forestry and the Minister for Economic Affairs, Trade and the Business Environment (Official Gazette No 632 of 4/9/2012). All the legislation is on the websites of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the National Environmental Protection Agency. 83 These outline prohibitions, how to increase their environmental performance, obligations regarding placing on the market, take-back and collection schemes and targets, disposal and treatment, recycling and exports. Slovakia: The following pieces of legislation transpose the Directive into national law: (i) Act No. 223/2001 on waste and amending certain laws, as amended (Waste Act); (ii) Decree of the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic No. 283/2001 on the implementation of certain provisions of the Waste Act as amended by Decree No. 509/2002, Decree No. 128/2004, Decree No. 599/2005, Decree No. 301/2008, and Decree No. 263/2010; and (iii) Decree of the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic No. 126/2004 on the authorization, issuance of expert opinions in matters of waste, on designating the persons authorized to issue expert opinions, and on verification of technical competence of such persons and the Decree of the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic No. 85/2013. Currently an ongoing legislative process of adopting the amendment Act No. 223/2001 on waste is under way, which removes defects due to the transposition of Parliament and Council Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators. Effectiveness of the amendment to the Waste Act shall begin from October Due to incorrect transposition and it not being fully implemented in Slovakia in the period, the Slovak Republic was also sent reasoned opinion No. 2012/2062 by the European Commission. The legislation now addresses restrictions, duties for the producer, distributor and seller, collection and processing of used batteries and accumulators, disposal, financing and labelling and came into force post Slovenia: The following pieces of legislation transpose the Directive into national law: (i) Decree on the management of batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators 85 and (ii) Decree on the management of batteries and accumulators and 83 and 84 EIONET (2012) European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production - Waste prevention for Slovakia, K 85 Page 19 of 175

21 waste batteries and accumulators which entered into force on 16 th January These pieces of legislation address collection schemes, financing, the production and placing on the market of batteries and accumulators, obligations for collection and treatment, disposal and recycling and responsibilities of the end user. Spain: The Directive is transposed by (i) the Royal Decree 106/2008 of 1 February 2008 on batteries and accumulators and the environmental management of their waste; 87 and (ii) the Royal Decree 943/2010 of 23 July 2010, amending Royal Decree 106/2008 of 1 February 2008 on batteries and accumulators and the environmental management of their waste. 88 These address prohibitions, collection and take-back schemes, treatment and disposal, financing, targets and management control, voluntary agreements, financing and penalties. Sweden: The Directive was transposed into national legislation with the Ordinance on producer responsibility for WEEE (amended 2008). 89 It introducers requirements for registration of producers, labelling, prohibitions for hazardous material, obligations for information sharing, financing, reporting and supervision, collection, treatment, disposal and penalties. The UK: The following regulations transpose the Directive into national law: (i) the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/890) which applies throughout the UK, with the exception of Regulation 56 (prohibition on disposing of waste automotive and industrial batteries in landfill or by incineration) which does not apply in Scotland; 90 (ii) the Waste Batteries (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009 No. 247); 91 the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/2164); 92 the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1139); 93 and Schedule 19 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/675). 94 These pieces of legislation outline the producer obligations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, obligations regarding treatment and recycling, collection and take-back schemes and financing. Question (1) (b): Has any provision set up in Articles 8, 15 and 20 been transposed by means of voluntary agreements between the competent authorities and the economic operators concerned? Article 8 requires Member States to set up collection schemes for portable batteries and accumulators Page 20 of 175

22 Article 15 refers to exports of batteries and accumulators outside the Member State or even outside the European Union for treatment and recycling. Article 20 requires Member States to provide information to end-users through campaigns on the effects of batteries and accumulators to human health and the environment, how to dispose of them and/or recycle them, what collection schemes exist, etc. Question (1) (b) of the Implementation Questionnaire asks Member States to explain any voluntary agreements which may have been set up between the competent authorities and the economic operators to meet the provisions of these Articles. Given Question (1) (b) refers to setting up voluntary agreements, Member States are not necessarily required to have these in place, so for many the reply was that they had not. Member State replies are summarised below: Austria: The Member State responded no to this question. Belgium: (i) Flemish Region: The provisions that have been set up are an Environmental Agreement on the duty of acceptance for discarded portable and industrial batteries and accumulators of June 11, 2010 and an Environmental Agreement on the duty of acceptance for discarded car batteries and accumulators of June 11, (ii) Brussels Region: In Brussels an environmental convention has been implemented to formalise the manner in which producers or importers implement their waste back obligations or from the products they provide on the market. Regarding batteries and portable and industrial batteries, a first environmental agreement was concluded between the Brussels government, BEBAT and the Federation of Electricity and Electronics on May 28, 2004 and expired on May 28, The procedure leading to a further extension until 31 December 2015 is currently underway. Regarding automotive batteries, an agreement was reached with stakeholders on December 12, 2002 and expired on 12 December The procedure leading to a new agreement for a period of five years is currently underway. (iii) Walloon Region: In Wallonia an environmental convention is run and refers the performance of all or part of the obligations to a management agency to which it has acceded, in which case it is deemed to meet its obligation as soon as it establishes and is a member of an 95 beleidsover Page 21 of 175

23 organisation signatory to the convention, or acceding to the management body, provided that it meets its obligations. For portable and industrial batteries there was the environmental agreement of 22 December 2005, hereinafter referred to as "EC of 22 December 2005" which expired on 31 December For lead starter batteries there was the environmental agreement of 23 January 2003, hereinafter referred to as "EC of 23 January 2003" which expired on 11 May The renewal procedure of both environmental agreements is underway. Bulgaria: The Member State responded no to this question. Cyprus: The Member State responded no to this question. The Czech Republic: Between 2002 and 2010, when transposition of the Directive was completed, Articles 8 and 20 were transposed by means of a voluntary agreement between the Ministry of the Environment and the Czech Association of manufacturers and importers of portable batteries. In 2010 the agreement was replaced by an authorisation to operate a collective system pursuant to Section 31l. Estonia: The Member State responded no to this question. Finland: The Member State responded no to this question. France: The provisions of Articles 8 (collection systems), 15 (exports) and 20 (user information final) of the Directive have been transposed in the form of voluntary agreements between the authorities, competent and economic operators concerned, in the form of regulatory obligations set respectively in the following texts: b. Articles R , R and environment code R ; c. Article R of the Environmental Code and Article 2 of the decree of November 9, 2009 amended; d. Articles R (portable category) R (car category) and paragraph R II (industrial grade) and for portable batteries and accumulators in requirements attached to collective organizations (called eco-organizations) approved producers and producers setting up an individual waste management system approved by the Government respectively via the tender approval loads. Germany: No, Articles 8 (take-back systems), 15 (export) and 20 (information for endusers) have been implemented in Germany without using voluntary agreements. Hungary: The Member State responded no to this question. Ireland: For Article 8 on Collection Schemes: Producers can join one of two approved compliance schemes in Ireland or there is an option to self-comply with the regulations. Producers participating in a compliance scheme are exempt from certain requirements 96 /conventionenv/conv007.html 97 Page 22 of 175