Page 55 from: October 2013

55October 2013

Battery sector has not lost its spark
is one of the main elements driving the BIOIS

study. ‘We are carefully looking into just what

kind of dangerous substances are typically used

in non-compliant batteries,’ Pahal said.

The list of questions surrounding hazardous

batteries is long and the uncertainties are

numerous. But it seems clear there is ‘a strong

need’ for additional labelling of substances –

also by application type, Pahal observed.

He went on to state: ‘Our preliminary data show

that not all (EU) member states met the 2012

collection target for batteries. Therefore, we must

ask “Can the directive be called successful?”’

Hatzi-Hull took the opportunity to emphasise

that the study is ‘still a work in progress’ and

that ‘any input is more than welcome’. She

added: ‘True, we don’t have precise figures yet.

So far, we’ve reviewed a lot of information from

various parties and are still busy analysing the

data. However, I can already say that member

states are very concerned too, not just recyclers.’

EPR strategy
This has been confirmed by the French govern-

ment’s attitude towards the industry. ‘France’s

answer to a circular economy is involving the

producers as much as possible, resulting in

three compulsory extended producer respon-

sibility schemes,’ said Alain Liger of the High

Council for Economy, Industry, Energy and

Technologies (COMES). Not exactly surprising

as France has the EU’s second-largest battery

recycling market (after Germany) with 1.2 bil-

lion units recycled annually.

‘Now, in total, there are no less than 17 such

schemes throughout the country,’ he noted,

including five voluntary initiatives run by the

government and nine voluntary schemes estab-

lished at the EU level.

Liger described the elaborate extended pro-

ducer responsibility (EPR) chain as a ‘strategic

option’ for the French government – one that

was ‘the most efficient way of dealing with

waste management in the long run’ in light of

‘dramatically increasing waste flows’ coupled

with a rising demand for recycling technology.

Roughly 18 300 tonnes of waste batteries, most-

ly alkaline, were collected countrywide in 2012.

Of this volume, some 10 000 tonnes originated

from domestic sources and around 8000 tonnes

from imports. The lion’s share of the metal

recovered was lead (80%) while only a fraction

of strategic metals were reclaimed given that

lithium-ion and Ni-MH batteries make up only

5-6% of waste flows.

‘Well ahead’
All efforts combined yielded a collection rate of

over 36% – a figure ‘well ahead’ of the EU objec-

tive for 2012 of 25%. Further improvements

could be achieved by setting ‘sub-segment tar-

gets’, Liger reflected. Urban mining was dubbed

‘critical’ towards reaching higher volumes of stra-

tegic metals and meeting future collection targets.

Liger pondered: ‘There are many ways to skin a

cat and there are equally many ways to realise a

45% collection rate for batteries by 2016.’

Japan offers a different scenario: this nation is

expecting 650 000 tonnes of waste batteries to

be collected annually by municipalities and

electronics shops in the years ahead, according

to Mike Takao, Panasonic Corporation council-

lor and member of the Battery Association of

Japan (BAJ). The financial and material benefits,

he declared, are substantial, to say the least,

translating into a metal recovery potential of

280 000 tonnes worth Euro 650 million

(US$ 863 million).

Takao pointed out that this inspiring forecast

is partly due to Japan having recently enforced

the Small Home Appliance Recycling Law. The

new regulation requires the labelling of small

batteries with a recycling logo as well as with

the related chemical symbol (Ni-Cd, Li-ion,

etc.), thus making it easier for them to be prop-

erly identified and treated.

Already in 2012, collections of small recharge-

able batteries alone totalled 1483 tonnes in

Japan, while some 200 tonnes of primary bat-

teries and 3 tonnes of button batteries were also

amassed for recycling, Takao told delegates.

Bound for South Korea
Recently, there has been an obvious increase in

the volume of hazardous waste exported from

Japan, added Dr Atsushi Terazono of the coun-

try’s National Institute for Environmental

Studies. ‘Most of the material is lead-acid bat-

tery scrap to (South) Korea for recycling,’ he

explained. Last year saw a total of 113 912 units

of portable battery scrap and over 3000 units

of portable battery ash exported to South

Korea. ‘A direct effect of this is that there now

is a portable battery shortage at secondary

smelting facilities in Japan,’ he argued.

Japan’s mixed metal scrap, which consists of

non-homogeneous and various types of

e-waste, ‘is typically regarded as non-hazardous

and non-waste as a whole’, Terazono explained.

‘However, it does, technically, include some

hazardous waste.’ If material is considered haz-

ardous, it falls under the ‘strict’ Basel Conven-

Artemis Hatzi-Hull: The revised Battery Directive will likely ban cad-
mium in cordless power tools.

Mike Takao: Japan’s Small Home Appliance Recycling Law demands
more extensive labelling of small batteries.

Renata Arsenault: There is ‘no real chemistry convergence’ for Li-ion
batteries.

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