REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation and the impact on the environment and the functioning of the internal market of 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
Date: 2019-04-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: application of EU law, electricity storage device, environmental impact, environmental protection, hazardous waste, single market, waste disposal, waste recycling

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 9.4.2019  COM(2019) 166 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation and the impact on the environment and the functioning of the internal market of 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  
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

Batteries  are everywhere. They provide power for our vehicles and enable us to  connect  to 
communication networks through our personal devices. They store energy and ensure cleaner 
public transport. With the ongoing transformation in the way electric power is produced and 
used, the number of batteries on the EU market  will only continue to  grow, putting further 
pressure on the environment. 

The  Batteries  Directive  1  is  the  only  piece  of  EU  legislation  entirely  dedicated  to  batteries. 
This  is  the  Commission’s  second  report2  on  the  Batteries  Directive.  It  has  been  prepared 
according  to  its  Article  23,  which  tasks  the  Commission  with  preparing  a  report  on  the 
implementation of the directive and its impact on the environment and the functioning of the 
internal market. In its report, the Commission has to include an evaluation on some specific 
aspects of the directive, in particular, 

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the  appropriateness  of  further  risk  management  measures  for  batteries 
containing heavy metals; 
the  appropriateness  of  the  minimum  collection  targets  for  all  waste  portable 
batteries; 
the possible introduction of further targets; and 
the appropriateness of recycling efficiency levels set by the directive. 

The evaluation is part of a process that could lead to the directive’s revision to take account 
of  social  and  policy  developments  such  as  the  shift  towards  a  circular  economy  and  low 
carbon  policies,  which  involve  an  increased  use  of  batteries  for  electric  mobility  and  for 
decentralised  power  storage.  The  initiative  for  a  ‘European  Batteries  Alliance’  (EBA)  that 
aims  to  ensure  a  whole  value  chain  for  the  manufacturing  of  advanced  cells  and  batteries 
within  the  EU  is  also  part  of  the  new  policy  context.  The  related  strategic  action  plan  on 
batteries3 includes the commitment to design innovative and future-proof regulation, of which 
the directive will be a key component. 

The Batteries Directive aims to minimise the negative impact of batteries and waste batteries 
on the environment, to help protect, preserve and improve the quality of the environment. It 
also aims to ensure the smooth functioning of the internal market. 

The  directive  addresses  the  environmental  impacts  of  batteries  related  to  the  hazardous 
components they contain. If spent batteries are landfilled, incinerated or improperly disposed 
of at the end of their life, the substances they contain risk entering the environment, affecting 
its  quality  and  affecting  human  health.  To  address  these  risks,  the  directive  provides  for 
reducing  the  presence  of  hazardous  components  in  batteries  and  establishing  measures  to 
ensure the proper management of waste batteries. 

1   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 OJ L 266, 26.9.2006, p. 1, as amended. 

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COM/2017/088 final 

COM(2018) 293 final, ANNEX 2. 

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The directive requires Member States to maximise the separate collection of waste batteries 
and  establishes  targets  for  collection  of  waste  batteries  and  recycling  efficiencies.  Member 
States are obliged to ensure that, by 2016, waste portable batteries are collected up to 45% of 
the amount placed on the market.  

All  batteries  collected  must  be  recycled  through  processes  that  at  least  reach  the  minimum 
efficiencies established by the directive, in order to attain a high level of material recovery. 
Targets  are  defined  for  three  groups  of  batteries:  lead-acid,  nickel-cadmium  and  all  other 
batteries ('general').  

Producers  of  batteries  and  of  products  incorporating  batteries  are  responsible  for  the 
management  of  the  waste  generated  by  the  batteries  they  place  on  the  market  (‘extended 
producer responsibility’). 

2.  PREPARATION OF THE REPORT 

This report is based on several sources of information: (i) Member States’ reports4 covering 
the  3 years  from  26 September  2012  to  26 September  2015;  (ii)  the  results  of  the 
Commission’s  evaluation  of  the  directive  in  20185;  and  (iii)  information  on  the  collection 
rates and recycling efficiencies submitted to the Commission6. 

The  well-documented  implementation  of  the  directive  so  far  is  in  itself  an  input  to  the 
evaluation.  Independent  consultants  have  supported  the  Commission’s  assessment  of  the 
information  collected7.  The  evaluation  has  followed  the  European  Commission’s  better 
regulation  policy.  Moreover,  the  directive  was  partially  evaluated  in  2014  together  with  other 
waste stream directives (the ‘fitness-check’)8. The current evaluation has considered the five 
usual  criteria,  i.e.  the  directive’s  relevance,  effectiveness,  efficiency,  coherence,  and  EU 
added value, along with the topics requested by its Article 23, mentioned above. Key issues 
identified in the fitness-check have also been looked at. 

3.  IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT  

The  directive  contributed  to  reducing  the  use  of  hazardous  substances  in  batteries  and  to 
preventing  waste  portable  batteries  from  being  landfilled  or  incinerated,  but  not  up  to  the 
level envisaged. Risks for the environment therefore persist. 

3.1.  CHEMICALS 

The directive has reduced the amount of mercury and cadmium in batteries, but has not led to 
a reduction in the other hazardous substances. ‘Old’ types of batteries containing mercury and 

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8 

Prior  to  its  latest  amendment  in  June  2018,  the  directive  required  Member  States  to  provide  the 
Commission  with  a  report  on  its  implementation  every  3  years.  To  this  end,  a  questionnaire  was 
established by the Commission Decision 2009/851/EC. This obligation has now been discontinued. 

See the staff working document SWD(2019)1300. 

See EUROSTAT Webpage 

Trinomics,  (2017),  ‘Study  in  support  of  the  preparation  of  the  implementation  report  on  Directive 
2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators’ 

H  Stahl  et  al.,  (2018)  ‘Study  in  support  of  evaluation  of  the  Directive  2006/66/EC  on  batteries  and 
accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators’. 

SWD/2014/0209. 

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cadmium  are  still  in  use  and  the  ‘new’  batteries  contain  harmful  substances  such  as  cobalt 
and some organic electrolytes. 

The  directive  encourages  the  development  of  batteries  containing  smaller  quantities  of 
dangerous  substances.  However,  it  does  not  specify  the  criteria  to  identify  the  substances 
concerned  (including  heavy  metals)  or  the  type  of  management  measures  that  could  be 
adopted. Consequently, the evaluation suggests that these issues could be more appropriately 
addressed by other legal instruments. 

3.2.  COLLECTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE BATTERIES 

On the implementation of their collection and recycling obligations, Member States reported 
that  measures  for  collecting,  treating  and  recycling  waste  batteries  are  in  place  at  national 
level following the transposition of the directive. 

Most  Member  States  have  met  or  exceeded  the  2012  target  for  the  collection  of  waste 
portable batteries (set at 25 %), but only 14 Member States have met the 2016 target (set at 
45 %). The evaluation points out that these targets are generally insufficient to ensure a high 
level of collection of waste portable batteries. Provisions for collecting the different types of 
batteries are too diverse: a target has only been set for the collection of portable batteries, not 
for industrial and automotive batteries. 

The management of used batteries remains a concern within the EU. An estimated 56.7 % of 
all waste portable batteries are not collected, annually. This has led to around 35 000 tonnes 
of waste portable batteries entering municipal waste streams, causing negative environmental 
impacts  and  a  loss  of  resources.  This  amount  is  significant  enough  to  jeopardise  the 
achievement of the directive’s environmental protection objectives. 

On  the  level  of  recycling,  the  vast  majority  of  waste  batteries  collected  in  the  EU  are 
recycled in line with the directive’s requirements. The lack of specialised recycling facilities 
would  explain  the  few  cases  where  recycling  is  not  ensured.  Moreover,  battery-recycling 
processes  did  meet  the  efficiency  targets  set  by  the  directive,  particularly  for  lead-acid 
batteries and to a lesser extent for nickel-cadmium and ‘other’ batteries.  

The directive’s overall objective to achieve a high level of material recovery is not being met, 
however.  The  directive  only  targets  two  substances  —  lead  and  cadmium  —  and  does  not 
consider  other  valuable  components,  as  cobalt  or  lithium.  Moreover,  the  definitions  of 
recycling efficiencies is not geared towards increasing material recovery. 

In the light of technical progress and practical experience gained, it can be concluded that the 
current minimum  collection  targets  for  waste portable batteries and the minimum recycling 
requirements are not appropriate. Further targets for collection and recycling should therefore 
be considered. 

4.  IMPACT ON THE INTERNAL MARKET  

The directive has contributed significantly to the smooth functioning of the single market for 
batteries  when  compared  with  the  previous  situation  of  individual  requirements  at  national 
level. 

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Overall,  the  directive  has  had  a  positive  economic  impact  on  the  sectors  linked  to  the 
manufacturing and recycling of batteries. While it has entailed significant costs for industrial 
operators,  stakeholders  generally  agree  that  these  are  outweighed  by  present  and  future 
benefits. 

While  complying  with  the  directive  involves  complex  procedures,  some  of  which  can 
generate significant  costs for local  authorities, national  administrations do not  consider that 
implementing the directive carries any unnecessary regulatory burden. 

The evaluation underlines how the directive’s requirement that all collected batteries undergo 
treatment  and  recycling,  is  key  to  ensuring  the  viability  of  recycling  activities.  This 
obligation,  linked  to  efficient  and  sufficient  collection,  helps  ensure  the  supply  of  raw 
materials for recyclers, supporting better economic results for recycling activities. 

In addition to lowering the EU’s reliance on imports of particularly important raw materials 
— including critical ones — recycling may have economic benefits. The directive, however, 
limits these positive effects as it only establishes efficiency targets for lead and cadmium.  

In  a  number  of  cases,  the  obligations  and  definitions  in  the  directive  are  not  very  detailed, 
which  could  have  had  an  impact  on  the  level  of  harmonisation  achieved.  Aspects  needing 
further  clarification  include,  for  instance    differences  in  the  classification  of  spent  batteries  
according  to  the  List  of  Waste,  the  criteria  for  granting  exemptions  to  removability  or 
labelling  obligations,  the  obligations  for  collecting  waste  industrial  batteries  or  the 
consideration of slag as a finished recycled product.  

5.  OTHER EVALUATION FINDINGS 

5.1 RELEVANCE 

While the current provisions of the directive are still relevant, the evaluation has highlighted 
a  number  of  aspects  that  the  directive  needs  to  address  more  comprehensively  in  light  of 
developments  such  as  the  shift  towards  a  circular  economy,  climate  policy  objectives  or 
technological advancements 

While key circular economy goals are reflected in the directive, such as addressing the supply 
of materials  and recycling, there is  still significant  untapped potential. The directive is  also 
insufficiently equipped to easily incorporate technical novelties. For instance, lithium-based 
batteries, while included in the scope of the directive, are not addressed as a specific category 
and  there  is  no  mechanism  to  incorporate  new  battery  chemistries  into  the  directive. 
Likewise,  the  directive  does  not  specifically  address  the  possibility  of  giving  advanced 
batteries a ‘second life’.9 

The current system established by the directive does not appear to be suitable for dealing with 
industrial batteries either. There are no detailed provisions for battery collection, for setting 
up  national  schemes  or  for  extended  producer  responsibility  for  this  category  of  batteries, 
whose number will very rapidly increase in future and became unavoidable for implementing 
low carbon policies in the EU. 

9  

The ongoing Innovation Deal on batteries, intended to address specifically this issue, should be 
mentioned.  

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5.2 COHERENCE AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY 

Many stakeholders consider that the provisions dealing with batteries should be concentrated 
in a reduced number of legislative acts, particularly for chemicals and end-of-life issues, with 
a clear relationship  between these acts.  They also think that there should be a reflection on 
whether  the  EU  chemicals  legislation  REACH  is  a  more  adequate  instrument  to  manage 
chemicals in batteries. 

The  specific  issues  identified  on  coherence  with  other  EU  legislation  also  relate  to  the 
demarcation  with  legislation  that  covers  products  that  incorporate  batteries  and  the 
implementation  of  extended  producer  responsibility.  The  recently  adopted  minimum 
requirements  for  extended  producer  responsibility  under  the  Waste  Framework  Directive10 
will help address risks of inconsistency.  

Some basic concepts in the directive are not well defined and some objectives remain vague, 
in  particular those that do not  relate to  specific  measures or targets.  This is  particularly the 
case for the reduction in the disposal of batteries as municipal waste, the separate collection 
of automotive and industrial batteries, or the obligation to ensure that batteries are removed 
from waste electrical and electronic equipment 

Shortcomings  in  internal  consistency  and  coherence  of  the  directive  will  need  to  be  further 
addressed to avoid overlaps, to ensure clarity for stakeholders and Member States authorities 
and to maximise the functioning of extended producer responsibility. 

5.3 EU ADDED VALUE 

The evaluation concluded that it is appropriate to continue to set the conditions for the sale, 
collection  and  recycling  of  batteries  at  EU  level.  The  implementation  of  the  directive  is 
perceived as a major contribution to the well-functioning of the single market for batteries.  

Stakeholders consider that trade barriers, if any, are of lesser importance compared to what 
national regulations could entail. Stakeholders nevertheless pointed to cases where the lack of 
detail  in  the  directive  could  hamper  the  development  of  a  level  playing  field  for  recyclers, 
creating  de  facto  barriers  (see  point  3.2  above)  and  propose  to  address  those  at  EU  level. 
Gaps in the enforcement of the directive could also distort the internal market, by creating a 
disadvantage  for  producers  that  strictly  follow  the  provisions  in  the  directive  (as  e.g.  the 
levels of heavy metals or ensuring the proper labelling) as compared to producers who do not 
make the same efforts. 

5.4 REPORTING, LABELLING AND INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC 

The  directive  has  been  effective  in  ensuring  that  portable  and  automotive  batteries  are 
labelled. However, improvements are needed to ensure that information reaches end-users.  

The  difficulties  in  meeting  the  collection  targets  for  waste  portable  batteries  illustrate  the 
need to strengthen the provisions aiming to ensure that end-users are properly informed. 

Labelling  alone  is  not  enough.  Complementary  activities  such  as  public  information 
campaigns  can  also  be  effective.  A  more  accurate  definition  of  producers’  obligations  to 
finance such activities would have helped end-users be more aware of their expected role in 

10  

Directive 2008/98/EC, OJ L 312, 22.11.2008 

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ensuring the collection of spent batteries, for example. 

Reporting  obligations  are  only  established  when  targets  are  set.  The  absence  of  quantified 
targets  therefore  makes  assessing  Member  States’  performance  on  these  particular  aspects 
very difficult. 

6  CONCLUSIONS 

As  requested  by  Article  23  of  the  Batteries  Directive,  the  Commission  has  evaluated  the 
directive  and  assessed  its  implementation  along  with  its  impact  on  the  environment  and  on 
the internal market.  

Based on the assessment of the national reports, the Commission concludes that the Member 
States have adopted the measures needed to implement the directive’s provisions. 

The  evaluation  demonstrates  that  the  directive  has  delivered  positive  results  in  terms  of  a 
better environment, the promotion of recycling and better functioning of the internal market 
for batteries and recycled materials. 

However,  the  observed  limitations  in  some  legal  provisions  or  in  their  implementation 
prevent  the  directive  from  fully  delivering  on  its  objectives.  This  is  particularly  true  as 
regards the collection of waste batteries or the efficiency in the recovery of materials. 

Moreover, the absence of an efficient mechanism to incorporate technological novelties and 
new  usages  of  batteries  into  the  directive  casts  doubts  on  its  ability  to  keep  pace  with  fast 
technological developments in this field. 

Further  work  should  particularly  aim  to  identify  and  assess  the  feasibility  of  measures  to 
improve  the  directive’s  impact  on  environmental  protection,  the  proper  functioning  of  the 
internal market, the promotion of circular economy and low carbon policies and the ability to 
adapt to technological and economic developments.  

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