Regulation on the Control of Waste Batteries and Accumulators

The Regulation on the Control of Waste Batteries and Accumulators was published in the Official Gazette No. 25569 on 31 August 2004. It entered into force on 1 January 2005 (Article 9(l) on 1 January 2007), and its current text includes amendments made in 2005, 2010, 2013 and 2014; the latest amendment in the text is in the Official Gazette No. 29214 of 23 December 2014 (Articles 3 and 37). The regulation therefore dates from 2004, but this is still its current in-force text.

What does this regulation govern?

It sets rules on labelling, harmful-substance limits, separate collection of waste from household waste, transport, disposal, and import, export and transit of batteries and accumulators from production to final disposal (Articles 1-2). Appliances with permanently installed industrial batteries, batteries in vital medical devices and pacemakers are excluded. Production waste from battery and accumulator plants is managed under hazardous and solid waste legislation, not this regulation.

What prohibitions and harmful-substance limits apply?

Storing waste batteries and accumulators together with household or other waste, releasing them into the environment and incinerating them are prohibited (Article 5). The production and import of button cells containing more than 2% mercury oxide or mercury by weight are prohibited; production and import of batteries containing more than 0.0005% mercury or, for primary cells, more than 0.025% cadmium are also prohibited, subject to stated exceptions. Waste batteries containing harmful substances are disposed of under the Hazardous Waste Control Regulation.

What are the obligations of producers, sellers and consumers?

Battery producers apply to the Ministry for quota approval by the last working day of January each year and must achieve and document the collection rates set in the regulation, which starts at 15% in the first year; for later years the Ministry sets the rates (Articles 25-26). Accumulator producers must apply a deposit system, apply for deposit approval by the end of January each year and ensure waste accumulators are recovered (Articles 10 and 29-30).

• Businesses selling batteries take back waste batteries brought by consumers free of charge and do not sell brands that have no waste-battery collection system (Article 11).
• Businesses selling accumulators and vehicle maintenance workshops accept waste accumulators, set up a temporary storage area and keep waste accumulators there no longer than ninety days (Article 12).
• Industrial users of accumulators in production processes keep waste accumulators on an impermeable floor for no more than ninety days until handed to the producer (Article 13).

What conditions apply to recovery facilities and temporary storage?

Facilities recovering waste batteries and waste accumulators must obtain an environmental licence (Article 21). Operators of recovery facilities keep records for three years, check that the waste matches the description on the national waste transport form and send an operating plan to the governorate each January (Article 14). Waste accumulator recovery and temporary storage areas must have a reinforced concrete or asphalt floor at least 25 cm thick, non-leaking accumulators may be stacked no more than five high and an acid neutralisation unit is required (Article 19). Waste batteries are temporarily stored in corrosion-resistant red containers of at least 4 m³ (Article 20).

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

Recovery of waste batteries and accumulators is the rule (Article 5). A business that generates lead-acid battery or battery waste must not mix it with refuse; it should hand it to the producer's system, a licensed recovery facility or a documented collection channel. Transport details are set by the Ministry's other regulatory acts under Article 15, and the Communiqué on the Road Transport of Waste should also be taken into account for transport licensing and the national waste transport form.

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Breaches are handled by the authorities and penalties of Environment Law No. 2872 (Article 35). In quota and deposit applications, the Ministry may have declarations audited by sworn-in certified public accountants at the company's expense. Businesses that accumulate accumulators on site should monitor the ninety-day limit and the impermeable-floor requirement.