Batteries
We are always keen to hear from organisations which collect, or which are considering collecting and / or treating waste portable batteries.
If you treat and recycle UK waste portable batteries and wish to issue evidence notes on them to compliance schemes, or treat and recycle industrial and automotive batteries, you must be an approved battery treatment operator (ABTO).
You must be an approved battery exporter (ABE) if you export UK waste industrial or automotive batteries; export UK whole waste portable batteries and want to issue evidence on them; or receive, and then export, UK waste portable batteries from an ABTO who has already issued evidence notes on them.
ABTOs and ABEs are required to follow Government guidance for best practice (Best Available Techniques) on the treatment and recycling of waste batteries to protect public health and the environment. They must also comply as a minimum with EU legislation, especially on health and safety and waste management.
Battery treatment operators wishing to become an ABTO or ABE must apply for approval to the relevant environment agency. Applications must be submitted by 30 September for approval to begin on the following 1 January. Approval lasts for a maximum of one year and will always end on December 31st. Each site included within an approval for an ABTO must have the relevant environmental permit, waste management licence or exemption. The regulations require ABTOs to ensure the directive requirements for the treatment and recycling of waste batteries are met. Exporters can apply for approval of multiple overseas reprocessing sites and can apply to add additional sites at any time. Evidence is required where batteries are exported to treatment sites outside the European Economic Area (EEA) that treatment is undertaken at regulated sites, with equivalent standards to those in the EEA.
We expect our battery transport and treatment service providers to achieve the similar high standards of environmental protection and health and safety as our WEEE service providers, however, for battery transporters, this must also be underpinned with the expertise and business processes necessary to achieve compliance with Carriage of Dangerous Goods (CDG Regulations) and ADR.
