Batteries Directive - WRAP Trials

WRAP have published the results of their various battery collection trials. The UK currently collects around 3% of portable batteries for recycling. To meet the EU Battery Directive targets we will need to collect 25% by 2012 and 45% by 2016 - so a long way to go.

The WRAP collection trials looked at the following collection methods for batteries:

Kerbside collection
Retail take back
Community drop off
Postal

The results show that on average 7.9 batteries per household were collected from kerbside schemes. Postal collection produced 2.9 batteries per household and the other options produced around 1 battery per household.

In the Belgian BEBAT battery collection scheme schools are an important collection route with 25% of batteries being collected through this route. The Dutch battery collection scheme also collects large volumes through schools - with incentives for kids that participate. There have even been cases of parents complaining because their children have taken perfectly good batteries out of the remote control to get the free battery collection t-shirts. However, the WRAP trials did not look at school collection in the UK.

The Belgian BEBAT experience suggests that the UK can get to 25% battery collection in a short space of time. Belgian collection rates went from 9% to 26% in the first year of operation for BEBAT.