BRUSSELS, 13 March 2018 — The European Portable Battery Association (EPBA) released today the 5th update of its annual report on the collection of waste portable batteries. Based on the 2016 data, only 16 out of 28 EU Member States have reached or exceeded the 45% collection target. These Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden. Five EU Member States have not even reached a 35% collection result.

The report’s conclusions confirm the concerns that EPBA has voiced consistently since 2005 i.e. that it will not be possible for all Member States to reach the 45% target by September 2016 as set in the 2006 Batteries Directive. Hans Craen, Secretary General of EPBA, said: “This report and its findings clearly show that the level of collection targets should be ambitious but at the same realistic and achievable. Collecting spent portable batteries is subject to a wide variety of parameters which differ from one country to another and which were not taken into account when setting the targets.” He added that “a calculation basis on a three-year sales average is not a correct reflection of the length of time a battery stays on the market which also impacts the overall collection results.”

This update also demonstrates the importance of the quality of the data which is used to calculate the national collection results. An exceptional recognition of volumes collected in previous years can result to unrealistic collection results (Croatia). Also the correctness of the ‘put on market’ data is a crucial requirement impacting the overall collection results.

The report can be downloaded from the EPBA website via this link.

About the report
The annual report monitors achievement of targets for battery collection set in the EU’s Battery Directive and gives examples of best practices by looking at the countries that achieve high collection rates. It also suggests ways to improve the collection systems. This update relates to the 2016 collection results and provides the most comprehensive analysis of the collection rates for portable batteries in the EU Member States as well as in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

For more information contact:
Hans Craen
Secretary General
EPBA
+32 2 761 16 02
epba@kellencompany.com

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