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Batteries Require Special Disposal

A new directive coming into force on 26 September will require businesses dispose of batteries separately from their general waste. Directive 2006/66/EC recognises that batteries contain hazardous metals and need to be disposed of accordingly, meaning that disposing of batteries in normal landfill sites will be prohibited.
 
The directive applies to all kinds of batteries including mobile phone batteries. Businesses will be asked to put them in a battery box and that box will be collected by a waste contractor or a waste management company and disposed of through an appropriate approved organisation.
  
Businesses need to start adopting this procedure as of September this year and then be seen to be actively promoting it during its first 12 months. After that the directive requires the UK and every other EU member state to be recycling a minimum of 25% of their batteries by 2012 and a minimum of 45% by 2016.
 
This also applies domestically, which could have a knock-on effect on businesses.

Speaking to Workplace Law Network, Lynda Simmons, Head of Commercial Development at facilities services provider MITIE explains: 
 
“Local authorities in the most part have decided that it is too expensive to provide each domestic household with a curbside collection, so they are suggesting people take them to work and get them disposed of [there]. On the one hand it helps businesses get sufficient volumes to send for collection and recycling, and goes towards their recycling targets. 
 
“But on the other, businesses are asking why they should be paying for domestic recycling. In that case those businesses could … send one person down from the business to the local tip and therefore they would not be paying for the recycling.

“Batteries have always been treated as a hazardous waste item, but the now measures are being tightened up as Governments realise they simply cannot be allowed go to landfill.”



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