Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive 91/157/EEC   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-09-06
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: approximation of laws, electricity storage device, environmental protection, marketing, marketing restriction, quality of the environment, waste disposal, waste recycling

26.9.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

DIRECTIVE 2006/66/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 6 September 2006

on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive
91/157/EEC

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO-
PEAN UNION,

(2)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity,
and
Article 95(1) thereof in relation to Articles 4, 6 and 21 of this
Directive,

and in particular Article 175(1)

thereof

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of Regions (3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 251 of the Treaty (4),
in the light of the joint text
approved by the Conciliation Committee on 22 June 2006,

Whereas:

(1)

is

desirable

harmonise
and accumulators

national measures
It
to
concerning batteries
and waste
batteries and accumulators. The primary objective of this
Directive is to minimise the negative impact of batteries
and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators
on the environment, thus contributing to the protection,
preservation and improvement of
the
environment. The legal base is therefore Article 175(1)
it is also appropriate to take
of the Treaty. However,
measures
level on the basis of
Article 95(1) of the Treaty to harmonise requirements
concerning the heavy metal content and labelling of
batteries and accumulators and so to ensure the smooth
functioning of the internal market and avoid distortion
of competition within the Community.

at Community

the quality of

(1) OJ C 96, 21.4.2004, p. 29.
(2) OJ C 117, 30.4.2004, p. 5.
(3) OJ C 121, 30.4.2004, p. 35.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 20 April 2004 (OJ C 104 E,
30.4.2004, p. 354), Council Common Position of 18 July 2005 (OJ
C 264 E, 25.10.2005, p. 1) and Position of the European Parliament
of 13 December 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
European Parliament Legislative Resolution of 4 July 2006 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the Council of
18 July 2006.

for

The Commission Communication of 30 July 1996 on
the Community Strategy for Waste
the Review of
Management established guidelines
future Com-
munity waste policy. That Communication stresses the
need to reduce the quantities of hazardous substances in
waste and points out the potential benefits of Com-
munity-wide
such
substances in products and in production processes. It
further states that, where the generation of waste cannot
be avoided, that waste should be reused or recovered for
its material or energy.

the presence of

limiting

rules

(3)

(4)

The Council Resolution of 25 January 1988 on a Com-
munity action programme to combat environmental
pollution by cadmium (5) stressed the limitation of the
uses of cadmium to cases where suitable alternatives do
not exist and the collection and recycling of batteries
containing cadmium as major elements of the strategy
for cadmium control in the interests of the protection of
human health and the environment.

Council Directive 91/157/EEC of 18 March 1991 on
batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous
substances (6) has brought about an approximation of
Member States' laws in this field. However, the objectives
of that Directive have not been fully attained. Decision
No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Com-
munity Environment Action Programme (7) and Direc-
tive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and elec-
tronic equipment (WEEE) (8) also underlined the need for
Directive
revised. Directive
to
91/157/EEC should therefore be revised and replaced in
the interests of clarity.

91/157/EEC

be

(5) OJ C 30, 4.2.1988, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 38. Directive as amended by Commission

Directive 98/101/EC (OJ L 1, 5.1.1999, p. 1).

(7) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1.
(8) OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 24. Directive as amended by Directive
2003/108/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ
L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 106).

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(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

In order to achieve its environmental aims, this Directive
prohibits the placing on the market of certain batteries
and accumulators containing mercury or cadmium. It
also promotes a high level of collection and recycling of
waste batteries and accumulators and improved environ-
mental performance of all operators involved in the life
cycle of batteries and accumulators, e.g. producers,
distributors and end-users and,
those
operators directly involved in the treatment and recy-
cling of waste batteries and accumulators. The specific
rules needed to do this are supplementary to existing
Community legislation on waste,
in particular Direc-
tive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 5 April 2006 on waste (1), Council Direc-
tive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of
waste (2)
the
European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December
2000 on the incineration of waste (3).

in particular,

2000/76/EC

Directive

and

of

In order to prevent waste batteries and accumulators
from being discarded in such a way as to pollute the
environment, and to avoid end-user confusion about the
different waste management requirements for different
batteries and accumulators, this Directive should apply
to all batteries and accumulators placed on the market
within the Community. Such a wide scope should also
ensure economies of scale in collection and recycling, as
well as optimal resource saving.

Reliable batteries and accumulators are fundamental for
the safety of many products, appliances and services,
and are an essential energy source in our society.

It is appropriate to distinguish between portable batteries
and accumulators on the one hand and industrial and
automotive batteries and accumulators on the other. The
disposal of industrial and automotive batteries and accu-
mulators in landfill sites or by incineration should be
prohibited.

industrial batteries

Examples of
and accumulators
include batteries and accumulators used for emergency
or back-up power supply in hospitals, airports or offices,
batteries and accumulators used in trains or aircraft and
batteries and accumulators used on offshore oil rigs or
in lighthouses. Examples also include batteries and accu-
mulators designed exclusively for hand-held payment
terminals in shops and restaurants, bar code readers in
shops, professional video equipment for TV channels
and professional studios, miners' lamps and diving lamps
attached to mining and diving helmets for professionals,
back up batteries and accumulators for electric doors to
crushing people,
prevent
batteries and accumulators used for instrumentation or
in various types of measurement and instrumentation

them from blocking or

(1) OJ L 114, 27.4.2006, p. 9.
(2) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ
L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).
(3) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 91.

equipment and batteries and accumulators used in
connection with solar panel, photo-voltaic, and other
renewable energy applications. Industrial batteries and
accumulators also include batteries and accumulators
used in electrical vehicles, such as electric cars, wheel-
chairs, bicycles, airport vehicles and automatic transport
vehicles. In addition to this non exhaustive list of exam-
ples, any battery or accumulator that is not sealed and
not automotive should be considered industrial.

Examples of portable batteries and accumulators, which
are all-sealed batteries and accumulators that an average
person could carry by hand without difficulty and that
are neither automotive batteries or accumulators nor
include single cell
industrial batteries or accumulators,
batteries (such as AA and AAA batteries) and batteries
and accumulators used by consumers or professionals in
mobile telephones, portable computers, cordless power
tools, toys and household appliances such as electric
toothbrushes, razors and hand-held vacuum cleaners
(including similar equipment used in schools, shops,
restaurants, airports, offices or hospitals) and any battery
or accumulator that consumers may use for normal
household applications.

The Commission should evaluate the need for adaptation
of this Directive, taking account of available technical
and scientific evidence.
In particular, the Commission
should carry out a review of the exemption from the
cadmium ban provided for portable batteries and accu-
mulators intended for use in cordless power tools. Exam-
ples of cordless power tools are tools that consumers
turning, milling,
and professionals use for
sanding,
shearing, drilling, making
grinding,
sawing, cutting,
screwing,
hammering,
holes,
polishing or similar processing of wood, metal and other
materials, as well as for mowing, cutting and other
gardening activities.

punching,

riveting,

The Commission should also monitor, and Member
technological developments
States should encourage,
that improve the environmental performance of batteries
and accumulators throughout
their entire life cycle,
including through participation in a Community eco-
management and audit scheme (EMAS).

In order to protect the environment, waste batteries and
accumulators should be collected. For portable batteries
and accumulators, collection schemes achieving a high
collection rate should be established. This means setting
up collection schemes so that end-users can discard all
waste portable batteries and accumulators conveniently
and free of charge. Different collection schemes and
financing arrangements are appropriate for the different
battery and accumulator types.

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

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(14)

It is desirable for Member States to achieve a high collec-
tion and recycling rate for waste batteries and accumula-
tors so as to achieve a high level of environmental
protection and material recovery throughout the Com-
munity. This Directive should therefore set minimum
collection and recycling targets for Member States. It is
appropriate to calculate the collection rate on the basis
of average annual sales in preceding years, so as to have
that are
comparable targets
proportionate to the national level of battery and accu-
mulator consumption.

for all Member States

(15)

Specific recycling requirements should be established for
cadmium and lead batteries and accumulators in order
to attain a high level of material recovery throughout
the Community and to prevent disparities between
Member States.

(16) All

interested parties should be able to participate in
collection,
treatment and recycling schemes. Those
schemes should be designed to avoid discrimination
against imported batteries and accumulators, barriers to
trade or distortions of competition.

(17)

(18)

Collection and recycling schemes should be optimised,
in particular in order to minimise costs and the negative
environmental impact of transport. Treatment and recy-
cling schemes should use best available techniques, as
defined in Article 2(11) of Council Directive 96/61/EC
of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution
prevention and control (1). The definition of recycling
should exclude energy recovery. The concept of energy
recovery is defined in other Community instruments.

Batteries and accumulators can be collected individually,
by way of national battery collection schemes or
together with waste electrical and electronic equipment,
by way of national collection schemes set up on the
basis of Directive 2002/96/EC. In the latter case, as an
obligatory minimum treatment requirement, batteries
and accumulators should be removed from the collected
waste electrical and electronic equipment. After their
removal from the waste electrical and electronic equip-
to the
ment, batteries and accumulators are subject
requirements of this Directive, notably they count for
achieving the collection target and are subject to recy-
cling requirements.

(19)

Basic principles for financing the management of waste
batteries and accumulators should be set at Community
level. Financing schemes should help to achieve high
collection and recycling rates and to give effect to the
principle of producer responsibility. All producers as
defined by this Directive should be registered. Producers
should finance the costs of collecting, treating and recy-
cling all collected batteries and accumulators minus the

profit made by selling the materials recovered. However,
under certain circumstances,
the application of de
minimis rules to small producers could be justified.

(20)

(21)

(22)

The provision of information to end-users on the desir-
ability of separate collection,
the collection schemes
available and end-users' role in the management of waste
batteries and accumulators is necessary for successful
collection. Detailed arrangements should be made for a
labelling system, which should provide end-users with
transparent, reliable and clear information on batteries
and accumulators and any heavy metals they contain.

If, in order to achieve the objectives of this Directive,
and,
in particular, to achieve high separate collection
and recycling rates, Member States use economic instru-
ments, such as differential tax rates, they should inform
the Commission accordingly.

Reliable and comparable data on the quantities of
batteries
and accumulators placed on the market
collected and recycled are necessary for monitoring
whether
this Directive have been
achieved.

the objectives of

(23) Member States should lay down rules on the penalties
the provisions of this
applicable to infringements of
Directive and ensure that they are implemented. Those
penalties should be effective, proportionate and dissua-
sive.

(24)

(25)

(26)

In accordance with paragraph 34 of the Interinstitutional
agreement on better law-making (2), Member States are
encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the inter-
ests of the Community, their own tables, which will, as
illustrate the correlation between this
far as possible,
Directive and the transposition measures and to make
them public.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down
the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission (3).

Since the objectives of this Directive namely protecting
the environment and ensuring the proper functioning of
the internal market cannot be sufficiently achieved by
the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the
scale or effects of the action, be better achieved at Com-
munity level, the Community may adopt measures,
in
accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out
in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the prin-
ciple of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this
Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order
to achieve those objectives.

(1) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26. Directive as last amended by Regu-
lation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the
Council (OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 1).

(2) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision

2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

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(27)

This Directive applies without prejudice to Community
legislation on safety, quality and health requirements and
specific Community waste management legislation,
in
particular Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-
of-life vehicles (1) and Directive 2002/96/EC.

(28) As regards producer responsibility, producers of batteries
and accumulators and producers of other products
incorporating a battery or accumulator are responsible
for the waste management of batteries and accumulators
that they place on the market. A flexible approach is
to reflect
appropriate to enable financing schemes
differing national circumstances and to take account of
existing schemes, particularly those set up to comply
with Directives 2000/53/EC and 2002/96/EC, while
avoiding double charging.

(29) Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the
use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and
electronic equipment (2) does not apply to batteries and
accumulators used in electrical and electronic equip-
ment.

(30) Automotive and industrial batteries and accumulators
used in vehicles should meet the requirements of Direc-
tive 2000/53/EC, in particular Article 4 thereof. There-
fore the use of cadmium in industrial batteries and accu-
mulators for electrical vehicles should be prohibited,
unless they can benefit from an exemption on the basis
of Annex II to that Directive,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject-matter

This Directive establishes:

(1) rules regarding the placing on the market of batteries and
in particular, a prohibition on the
accumulators and,
placing on the market of batteries and accumulators
containing hazardous substances; and

(2) specific rules for the collection, treatment, recycling and
disposal of waste batteries and accumulators to supplement
relevant Community legislation on waste and to promote a
high level of collection and recycling of waste batteries and
accumulators.

It seeks to improve the environmental performance of batteries
and accumulators and of the activities of all economic opera-
tors involved in the life cycle of batteries and accumulators,

(1) OJ L 269, 21.10.2000, p. 34. Directive as last amended by Council

Decision 2005/673/EC (OJ L 254, 30.9.2005, p. 69).

(2) OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 19. Directive as last amended by Commis-

sion Decision 2006/310/EC (OJ L 115, 28.4.2006, p. 38).

e.g. producers, distributors and end-users and,
in particular,
those operators directly involved in the treatment and recycling
of waste batteries and accumulators.

Article 2

Scope

This Directive shall apply to all types of batteries and
1.
accumulators, regardless of their shape, volume, weight, mate-
rial composition or use. It shall apply without prejudice to
Directives 2000/53/EC and 2002/96/EC.

This Directive shall not apply to batteries and accumula-

2.
tors used in:

(a) equipment connected with the protection of Member
States' essential security interests, arms, munitions and war
material, with the exclusion of products that are not
intended for specifically military purposes;

(b) equipment designed to be sent into space.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions
shall apply:

(1)

(2)

‘battery’ or ‘accumulator’ means any source of electrical
energy generated by direct conversion of chemical energy
and consisting of one or more primary battery cells (non-
rechargeable) or consisting of one or more secondary
battery cells (rechargeable);

‘battery pack’ means any set of batteries or accumulators
that are connected together and/or encapsulated within an
outer casing so as to form a complete unit that the end-
user is not intended to split up or open;

(3)

‘portable battery or accumulator’ means any battery,
button cell, battery pack or accumulator that:

(a) is sealed; and

(b) can be hand-carried; and

(c) is neither an industrial battery or accumulator nor an

automotive battery or accumulator;

(4)

(5)

‘button cell’ means any small round portable battery or
accumulator whose diameter is greater than its height and
which is used for special purposes such as hearing aids,
watches, small portable equipment and back-up power;

‘automotive battery or accumulator’ means any battery or
accumulator used for automotive starter, lighting or igni-
tion power;

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(6)

(7)

(8)

‘industrial battery or accumulator’ means any battery or
accumulator designed for exclusively industrial or profes-
sional uses or used in any type of electric vehicle;

‘waste battery or accumulator’ means any battery or accu-
mulator which is waste within the meaning of
Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 2006/12/EC;

‘recycling’ means the reprocessing in a production process
of waste materials for their original purpose or for other
purposes, but excluding energy recovery;

(9)

‘disposal’ means any of the applicable operations provided
for in Annex IIA to Directive 2006/12/EC;

(10) ‘treatment’ means any activity carried out on waste
batteries and accumulators after they have been handed
over to a facility for sorting, preparation for recycling or
preparation for disposal;

(11) ‘appliance’ means any electrical or electronic equipment,
as defined by Directive 2002/96/EC, which is fully or
partly powered by batteries or accumulators or is capable
of being so;

(12) ‘producer’ means any person in a Member State that, irre-
spective of the selling technique used, including by means
of distance communication as defined in Directive 97/7/
EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect
of distance contracts (1), places batteries or accumulators,
including those incorporated into appliances or vehicles,
on the market for the first time within the territory of
that Member State on a professional basis;

(13) ‘distributor’ means any person that provides batteries and
accumulators on a professional basis to an end-user;

(14) ‘placing on the market’ means supplying or making avail-
able, whether in return for payment or free of charge, to a
third party within the Community and includes import
into the customs territory of the Community;

(15) ‘economic operators’ means any producer, distributor,

collector, recycler or other treatment operator;

(16) ‘cordless power tool’ means any hand held appliance
powered by a battery or accumulator and intended for
maintenance, construction or gardening activities;

(17) ‘collection rate’ means, for a given Member State in a
given calendar year, the percentage obtained by dividing
the weight of waste portable batteries and accumulators
collected in accordance with Article 8(1) of this Directive
or with Directive 2002/96/EC in that calendar year by the
average weight of portable batteries and accumulators
that producers either sell directly to end-users or deliver
to third parties in order to sell them to end-users in that
Member State during that calendar year and the preceding
two calendar years.

(1) OJ L 144, 4.6.1997, p. 19. Directive as last amended by Direc-

tive 2005/29/EC (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22).

Article 4

Prohibitions

1. Without prejudice to Directive 2000/53/EC, Member
States shall prohibit the placing on the market of:

(a) all batteries or accumulators, whether or not incorporated
that contain more than 0,0005 % of

into appliances,
mercury by weight; and

(b) portable batteries or accumulators, including those incorpo-
rated into appliances, that contain more than 0,002 % of
cadmium by weight.

2.
The prohibition set out in paragraph 1(a) shall not apply
to button cells with a mercury content of no more than 2 % by
weight.

The prohibition set out in paragraph 1(b) shall not apply

3.
to portable batteries and accumulators intended for use in:

(a) emergency
lighting;

and alarm systems,

including

emergency

(b) medical equipment; or

(c) cordless power tools.

4.
The Commission shall review the exemption referred to
in paragraph 3(c) and submit a report to the European Parlia-
ment and to the Council by 26 September 2010, together, if
appropriate, with relevant proposals, with a view to the prohi-
bition of cadmium in batteries and accumulators.

Article 5

Increased environmental performance

Member States which have manufacturers established on their
territory shall promote research and encourage improvements
in the overall environmental performance of batteries and accu-
mulators throughout their entire life cycle as well as the devel-
opment and marketing of batteries and accumulators which
contain smaller quantities of dangerous substances or which
contain less polluting substances, in particular as substitutes for
mercury, cadmium and lead.

Article 6

Placing on the market

1. Member States shall not, on the grounds dealt with in
this Directive, impede, prohibit, or restrict the placing on the
market in their territory of batteries and accumulators that
meet the requirements of this Directive.

take the necessary measures to
2. Member States shall
ensure that batteries or accumulators that do not meet the
requirements of this Directive are not placed on the market or
are withdrawn from it.

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Article 7

Overarching objective

Member States shall, having regard to the environmental
impact of transport, take necessary measures to maximise the
separate collection of waste batteries and accumulators and to
minimise the disposal of batteries and accumulators as mixed
municipal waste in order to achieve a high level of recycling
for all waste batteries and accumulators.

Article 8

Collection schemes

1. Member States shall ensure that appropriate collection
schemes are in place for waste portable batteries and accumula-
tors. Such schemes:

(a) shall enable end-users to discard waste portable batteries or
accumulators at an accessible collection point in their vici-
nity, having regard to population density;

(b) shall

require distributors

to take back waste portable
batteries or accumulators at no charge when supplying
portable batteries or accumulators, unless an assessment
shows that alternative existing schemes are at least as effec-
tive in attaining the environmental aims of this Directive.
Member States shall make public such assessments;

(c) shall not involve any charge to end-users when discarding
waste portable batteries or accumulators, nor any obliga-
tion to buy a new battery or accumulator;

(d) may be run in conjunction with the schemes referred to in

Article 5(2) of Directive 2002/96/EC.

Collection points set up to comply with point (a) of this para-
graph shall not be subject to the registration or permit require-
ments of Directive 2006/12/EC or Council Directive 91/689/
EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (1).

Provided that the schemes meet the criteria listed in para-

2.
graph 1, Member States may:

(a) require producers to set up such schemes;

(b) require other economic operators to participate in such

schemes;

(c) maintain existing schemes.

3. Member States shall ensure that producers of industrial
batteries and accumulators, or third parties acting on their
behalf, shall not refuse to take back waste industrial batteries
and accumulators
regardless of chemical
composition and origin.
Independent third parties may also
collect industrial batteries and accumulators.

from end-users,

4. Member States shall ensure that producers of automotive
batteries and accumulators, or third parties, set up schemes for
the collection of waste automotive batteries and accumulators
from end-users or from an accessible collection point in their
vicinity, where collection is not carried out under the schemes
referred to in Article 5(1) of Directive 2000/53/EC. In the case
of automotive batteries and accumulators from private, non-
commercial vehicles, such schemes shall not involve any charge
to end-users when discarding waste batteries or accumulators,
nor any obligation to buy a new battery or accumulator.

Article 9

Economic instruments

Member States may use economic instruments to promote the
collection of waste batteries and accumulators or to promote
the use of batteries and accumulators containing less polluting
substances, for instance by adopting differential tax rates. If
they do so, they shall notify the measures related to the imple-
mentation of those instruments to the Commission.

Article 10

Collection targets

1. Member States shall calculate the collection rate for the
first time in respect of the fifth full calendar year following the
entry into force of this Directive.

Without prejudice to Directive 2002/96/EC, annual collection
and sales figures shall include batteries and accumulators incor-
porated into appliances.

2. Member States shall achieve the following minimum
collection rates:

(a) 25 % by 26 September 2012;

(b) 45 % by 26 September 2016.

3. Member States shall monitor collection rates on a yearly
basis according to the scheme set out in Annex I. Without
prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2002 on waste
statistics (2), Member States
to the
Commission within six months of the end of the calendar year
concerned. Reports shall indicate how they obtained the data
necessary to calculate the collection rate.

transmit

reports

shall

In accordance with the procedure

4.
Article 24(2):

referred to in

(a) transitional arrangements may be laid down to address
difficulties faced by a Member State in satisfying the
requirements of paragraph 2 as a result of specific national
circumstances;

(1) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 20. Directive as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 166/2006.

(2) OJ L 332, 9.12.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commis-
sion Regulation (EC) No 783/2005 (OJ L 131, 25.5.2005, p. 38).

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(b) a common methodology shall be established for the calcu-
lation of annual sales of portable batteries and accumula-
tors to end-users by 26 September 2007.

Treatment shall meet the minimum requirements set out

2.
in Annex III, Part A.

Article 11

Removal of waste batteries and accumulators

3. Where batteries or accumulators are collected together
with waste electrical and electronic equipment on the basis of
Directive 2002/96/EC, batteries or accumulators
shall be
removed from the collected waste electrical and electronic
equipment.

Member States shall ensure that manufacturers design appli-
ances in such a way that waste batteries and accumulators can
be readily removed. Appliances into which batteries and accu-
mulators are incorporated shall be accompanied by instructions
showing how they can be removed safely and, where appro-
priate, informing the end-user of the type of the incorporated
batteries and accumulators. These provisions shall not apply
where,
safety, performance, medical or data integrity
reasons, continuity of power supply is necessary and requires a
permanent connection between the appliance and the battery
or accumulator.

for

4.
Recycling processes shall, no later than 26 September
2010, meet the recycling efficiencies and associated provisions
set out in Annex III, Part B.

5. Member States shall report on the levels of recycling
achieved in each calendar year concerned and whether the effi-
ciencies referred to in Annex III, Part B have been met. They
shall submit the information to the Commission within six
months of the end of the calendar year concerned.

Article 12

Treatment and recycling

1. Member
26 September 2009:

States

shall

ensure

that, no later

than

(a) producers or third parties set up schemes using best avail-
able techniques, in terms of the protection of health and
the environment, to provide for the treatment and recycling
of waste batteries and accumulators; and

(b) all

identifiable batteries and accumulators collected in
accordance with Article 8 of this Directive or with Directive
2002/96/EC undergo treatment and recycling through
schemes that comply, as a minimum, with Community
legislation, in particular as regards health, safety and waste
management.

However, Member States may, in accordance with the Treaty,
dispose of
accumulators
collected portable batteries or
containing cadmium, mercury or lead in landfills or under-
ground storage when no viable end market
is available.
in accordance with the Treaty,
Member States may also,
dispose of
accumulators
collected portable batteries or
containing cadmium, mercury or lead in landfills or under-
ground storage as part of a strategy to phase out heavy metals
which, on the basis of a detailed assessment of the environ-
mental, economic, and social impacts, shows that this disposal
option should be preferred over recycling.

6.
Annex III may be adapted or supplemented to take
account of technical or scientific progress in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 24(2). In particular:

(a) detailed rules regarding the calculation of recycling efficien-

cies shall be added no later than 26 March 2010; and

(b) the minimum recycling efficiencies shall be evaluated regu-
larly and adapted to best available techniques and in the
light of
the developments referred to in paragraph 1,
second subparagraph.

the
7.
Before proposing any amendment
Commission shall consult relevant stakeholders,
in particular
producers, collectors, recyclers, treatment operators, environ-
mental organisations, consumer organisations and employee
inform the committee referred to in
associations.
Article 24(1) of the outcome of this consultation.

to Annex III

It shall

Article 13

New recycling technologies

1. Member States shall encourage the development of new
recycling and treatment technologies, and promote research
recycling
into environmentally friendly and cost-effective
methods for all types of batteries and accumulators.

Member States shall make public this assessment and notify
draft measures to the Commission in accordance with Direc-
tive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of
information in the field of technical standards and regulations
and of rules on Information Society services (1).

facilities to
2. Member States shall encourage treatment
introduce certified environmental management
in
schemes
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 allowing
voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-
management and audit scheme (EMAS) (2).

(1) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. Directive as last amended by the 2003

(2) OJ L 114, 24.4.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commis-

Act of Accession.

sion Regulation (EC) No 196/2006 (OJ L 32, 4.2.2006, p. 4).

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Article 14

Disposal

Member States shall prohibit the disposal
in landfills or by
incineration of waste industrial and automotive batteries and
accumulators. However, residues of any batteries and accumu-
lators that have undergone both treatment and recycling in
accordance with Article 12(1) may be disposed of in landfills or
by incineration.

Article 15

Exports

1.
Treatment and recycling may be undertaken outside the
Member State concerned or outside the Community, provided
that the shipment of waste batteries and accumulators is in
compliance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of
1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments
of waste within, into and out of the European Community (1).

2. Waste batteries and accumulators exported out of the
Community in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 259/93,
Council Regulation (EC) No 1420/1999 of 29 April 1999
establishing common rules and procedures to apply to ship-
ments to certain non-OECD countries of certain types of
waste (2) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1547/1999 of
12 July 1999 determining the control procedures under
Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 to apply to shipments of
certain types of waste to certain countries to which OECD
Decision C(92)39 final does not apply (3) shall count towards
the fulfilment of the obligations and efficiencies laid down in
Annex III to this Directive only if there is sound evidence that
the recycling operation took place under conditions equivalent
to the requirements of this Directive.

Detailed rules for the implementation of this Article shall
3.
be laid down in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 24(2).

Article 16

Financing

1. Member States shall ensure that producers, or
third
parties acting on their behalf, finance any net costs arising
from:

(a) the collection, treatment and recycling of all waste portable
batteries and accumulators collected in accordance with
Article 8(1) and (2); and

(b) the collection, treatment and recycling of all waste indus-
trial and automotive batteries and accumulators collected in
accordance with Articles 8(3) and (4).

(1) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission

Regulation (EC) No 2557/2001 (OJ L 349, 31.12.2001, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 166, 1.7.1999, p. 6. Regulation as last amended by Commis-

sion Regulation (EC) No 105/2005 (OJ L 20, 22.1.2005, p. 9).

(3) OJ L 185, 17.7.1999, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 105/2005.

2. Member States shall ensure that the implementation of
paragraph 1 avoids any double charging of producers in the
case of batteries or accumulators collected under schemes set
up in accordance with Directive 2000/53/EC or Directive
2002/96/EC.

3. Member States shall oblige producers, or third parties
acting on their behalf, to finance any net costs arising from
public information campaigns on the collection, treatment and
recycling of all waste portable batteries and accumulators.

The costs of collection, treatment and recycling shall not
4.
be shown separately to end-users at the time of sale of new
portable batteries and accumulators.

Producers and users of industrial and automotive batteries
5.
and accumulators may conclude agreements stipulating finan-
cing arrangements other than the ones referred to in para-
graph 1.

This Article shall apply to all waste batteries and accumu-

6.
lators, irrespective of the date of their placing on the market.

Article 17

Registration

Member States shall ensure that each producer is registered.
Registration shall be subject to the same procedural require-
ments in each Member State. Such requirements for registration
shall be established in accordance with the procedure referred
to in Article 24(2).

Article 18

Small producers

1. Member States may exempt producers which, relative to
the size of the national market place very small quantities of
batteries or accumulators on the national market, from the
requirements of Article 16(1), on the condition that this does
not impede the proper functioning of the collection and recy-
cling schemes set up on the basis of Articles 8 and 12.

2. Member States shall make public such draft measures and
the grounds for proposing them and notify them to the
Commission and other Member States through the Committee
referred to in Article 24(1).

The Commission shall, within six months of notification
3.
as referred to in paragraph 2, approve or reject
the draft
measures after having verified that they are consistent with the
considerations set out in paragraph 1 and do not constitute a
means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on
trade between Member States. In absence of a decision by the
Commission within this period, the draft measures shall be
deemed to have been approved.

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Article 19

Participation

1. Member States shall ensure that all economic operators
and all competent public authorities may participate in the
collection, treatment and recycling schemes referred to in Arti-
cles 8 and 12.

2.
These schemes shall also apply to batteries and accumula-
tors imported from third countries under non-discriminatory
conditions and shall be designed to avoid barriers to trade or
distortions of competition.

Article 20

Information for end-users

1. Member States shall ensure, in particular through infor-
mation campaigns, that end-users are fully informed of:

(a) the potential effects on the environment and human health

of the substances used in batteries and accumulators;

(b) the desirability of not disposing of waste batteries and accu-
mulators as unsorted municipal waste and of participating
in their separate collection so as to facilitate treatment and
recycling;

(c) the collection and recycling schemes available to them;

(d) their role in contributing to the recycling of waste batteries

and accumulators;

(e) the meaning of the symbol of the crossed-out wheeled bin
shown in Annex II and the chemical symbols Hg, Cd and
Pb.

2. Member States may require economic operators
to
provide some or all of the information referred to in para-
graph 1.

3. Where Member States require distributors to take back
waste portable batteries and accumulators pursuant to Article 8,
they shall ensure that such distributors inform end-users about
the possibility of discarding waste portable batteries or accumu-
lators at their sales points.

Article 21

Labelling

ment, including harmonised methods for the determination of
capacity and appropriate use, shall be laid down in accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2) no later than
26 March 2009.

3.
Batteries, accumulators and button cells containing more
than 0,0005 % mercury, more than 0,002 % cadmium or more
than 0,004 % lead, shall be marked with the chemical symbol
for the metal concerned: Hg, Cd or Pb. The symbol indicating
the heavy metal content shall be printed beneath the symbol
shown in Annex II and shall cover an area of at least one-
quarter the size of that symbol.

4.
The symbol shown in Annex II shall cover at least 3 % of
the area of the largest side of the battery, accumulator or
battery pack, up to a maximum size of 5 × 5 cm. In the case of
cylindrical cells, the symbol shall cover at least 1,5 % of the
surface area of the battery or accumulator and shall have a
maximum size of 5 × 5 cm.

5. Where the size of the battery, accumulator or battery
pack is such that the symbol would be smaller than 0,5 × 0,5
cm, the battery, accumulator or battery pack need not be
marked but a symbol measuring at least 1 × 1 cm shall be
printed on the packaging.

6.

Symbols shall be printed visibly, legibly and indelibly.

Exemptions

7.
this
Article may be granted in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 24(2).

from the labelling requirements of

Article 22

National implementation reports

1. Member States shall send the Commission a report on the
implementation of this Directive every three years. However,
the first report shall cover the period until 26 September 2012.

2.
Reports shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire
or outline established in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 24(2). The questionnaire or outline shall
be sent to Member States six months before the beginning of
the first period that the report is to cover.

3. Member States shall also report on any measures that
they take to encourage developments affecting the impact of
batteries and accumulators on the environment, in particular:

1. Member States shall ensure that all batteries, accumulators
and battery packs are appropriately marked with the symbol
shown in Annex II.

(a) developments,

including voluntary steps taken by produ-
cers, reducing quantities of heavy metals and other hazar-
dous substances contained in batteries and accumulators;

the capacity of all
2. Member States shall ensure that
portable and automotive batteries and accumulators is indicated
on them in a visible, legible and indelible form by 26 September
2009. Detailed rules for the implementation of this require-

(b) new recycling and treatment techniques;

(c) economic

operators'
management schemes;

participation

in

environmental

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Official Journal of the European Union

26.9.2006

(d) research in those fields; and

(e) measures taken to promote waste prevention.

4.
The report shall be made available to the Commission no
later than nine months after the end of the three-year period
concerned or,
in the case of the first report, no later than
26 June 2013.

5.
The Commission shall publish a report on the implemen-
tation of this Directive and on the impact of this Directive on
the environment and on the functioning of the internal market
no later than nine months after receiving the reports from
Member States in accordance with paragraph 4.

Article 23

Review

The Commission shall review the implementation of this
1.
Directive and the impact of this Directive on the environment
and the functioning of
the internal market after receiving
reports from Member States in accordance with Article 22(4)
for the second time.

The second report

2.
the Commission publishes in
accordance with Article 22(5) shall include an evaluation on
the following aspects of this Directive:

that

(a) the appropriateness of further risk management measures
for batteries and accumulators containing heavy metals;

(b) the appropriateness of the minimum collection targets for
all waste portable batteries and accumulators set out in
Article 10(2), and the possibility of
introducing further
targets for later years, taking account of technical progress
and practical experience gained in Member States;

(c) the appropriateness of the minimum recycling requirements
set out in Annex III, Part B, taking account of information
that Member States provide, technical progress and prac-
tical experience gained in Member States.

If necessary, proposals for revision of the related provi-

3.
sions of this Directive shall accompany the report.

Article 24

Committee procedure

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set

1.
up under Article 18 of Directive 2006/12/EC.

2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7
of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its Rules of procedure.

Article 25

Penalties

Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to
infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this
Directive and shall take all necessary measures to ensure that
they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be
effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall
notify those measures to the Commission by 26 September
2008 and shall
inform it without delay of any subsequent
amendment to them.

Article 26

Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 26 September 2008.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a refer-
ence on the occasion of their official publication. The methods
of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member
States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
text of all existing laws, regulations and administrative provi-
sions adopted in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 27

Voluntary agreements

1.
Provided that the objectives set out in this Directive are
achieved, Member States may transpose the provisions set out
in Articles 8, 15 and 20 by means of agreements between the
competent authorities and economic operators concerned. Such
agreements shall meet the following requirements:

(a) they shall be enforceable;

(b) they must specify objectives with the corresponding dead-

lines;

(c) they must be published in the national official journal or an
official document equally accessible to the public and trans-
mitted to the Commission.

2.
The results achieved must be monitored regularly, and
reported to the competent authorities and the Commission,
and made available to the public under the conditions set out
in the agreement.

The competent authorities shall ensure that the progress

3.
made under such agreements is examined.

4.
In cases of non-compliance with the agreements, Member
States shall implement the relevant provisions of this Directive
by legislative, regulatory or administrative measures.

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Article 28

Repeal

Directive 91/157/EEC is repealed with effect from 26 September
2008.

References to Directive 91/157/EEC shall be construed as refer-
ences to this Directive.

Article 29

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 30

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 6 September 2006.

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

J. BORRELL FONTELLES

The President

P. LEHTOMÄKI

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MONITORING OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE ARTICLE 10 COLLECTION TARGETS

ANNEX I

Year

Data collection

Calculation

Reporting
requirement

X (*)+1

Sales in year 1 (S1)

X+2

X+3

Sales in year 2 (S2)

—

—

Sales in year 3 (S3)

Collection in year 3 (C3)

X+4

Sales in year 4 (S4)

Collection in year 4 (C4)

X+5

Sales in year 5 (S5)

Collection in year 5 (C5)

X+6

Sales in year 6 (S6)

Collection in year 6 (C6)

X+7

Sales in year 7 (S7)

Collection in year 7 (C7)

X+8

Sales in year 8 (S8)

Collection in year 8 (C8)

X+9

Sales in year 9 (S9)

Collection in year 9 (C9)

X+10

Sales in year 10 (S10)

Collection in year 10 (C10)

Collection rate (CR3) =
3*C3/(S1+S2+S3)

Collection rate (CR4) =
3*C4/(S2+S3+S4)
(Target set at 25 %.)

Collection rate (CR5) =
3*C5/(S3+S4+S5)

Collection rate (CR6) =
3*C6/(S4+S5+S6)

Collection rate (CR7) =
3*C7/(S5+S6+S7)

Collection rate (CR8) =
3*C8/(S6+S7+S8)
(Target set at 45 %.)

Collection rate (CR9) =
3*C9/(S7+S8+S9)

Collection rate (CR10) =
3*C10/(S8+S9+S10)

CR4

CR5

CR6

CR7

CR8

CR9

X+11

Etc.

Etc.

Etc.

CR10

Etc.

(*) Year X is the year including the date mentioned in Article 26.

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SYMBOLS FOR BATTERIES, ACCUMULATORS AND BATTERY PACKS FOR SEPARATE COLLECTION

ANNEX II

The symbol indicating ‘separate collection’ for all batteries and accumulators shall be the crossed-out wheeled bin shown
below:

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ANNEX III

DETAILED TREATMENT AND RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS

PART A: TREATMENT

1. Treatment shall, as a minimum, include removal of all fluids and acids.

2. Treatment and any storage, including temporary storage, at treatment facilities shall take place in sites with imperme-

able surfaces and suitable weatherproof covering or in suitable containers.

PART B: RECYCLING

3. Recycling processes shall achieve the following minimum recycling efficiencies:

(a) recycling of 65 % by average weight of lead-acid batteries and accumulators, including recycling of the lead

content to the highest degree that is technically feasible while avoiding excessive costs;

(b) recycling of 75 % by average weight of nickel-cadmium batteries and accumulators, including recycling of the

cadmium content to the highest degree that is technically feasible while avoiding excessive costs; and

(c) recycling of 50 % by average weight of other waste batteries and accumulators.