Waste Battery Regulations

European Union Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 283 of 2014), as amended, came into effect on 30th of July 2014.

They follow on from the Waste Management Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2008 and impose obligations on people who produce and distribute batteries and accumulators.

If not disposed of properly and sent to a normal landfill, batteries can release dangerous heavy metals into the environment such as cadmium, nickel and lead. For this reason they must be recycled correctly to avoid this happening.

Obligations for Retailers:

All battery/accumulator retailers need to ensure that they are registered annually with their Local Authority, or with WEEE Ireland/ERP (approved registration bodies).

Click here to download Local Authority Registration Form

Note: 

• Retailers only selling portable batteries (i.e. AAA, AA, Cell C, Cell D, PP3 and PP9) are not required to register but are still obligated to provide free take-back facilities for batteries of the same type which they sell. 
• Retailers selling WEEE and registered with Cork City Council under the WEEE Regulations are also deemed registered under the Batteries and Accumulators Regulations, 2008.
• Retailers selling automotive or industrial batteries, and not already registered under the WEEE Regulations, are required to register with their Local Authority and pay a fee of €200 annually, or register with WEEE Ireland, which covers the Cork City Council area.
• Registered retailers are obligated to provide take-back facilities free of charge. Waste batteries need not have been purchased at their premises. The facility should be conveniently located and appropriate notices put in place. 
• Retailers can only transfer waste batteries on to authorised waste collectors, which include WEEE Ireland (an approved collection compliance scheme), Kinsale Road Civic Amenity site (once prior arrangements have been made with the site operator), or a permitted waste collector acting on behalf of the battery/accumulator producer. 
• Under the Regulations, producers of batteries and accumulators are obligated to finance any net costs arising from the environmentally sound management of waste batteries deposited at collection points.

An information note for Retailers is provided on the Department of the Environment's website.

Members of the public can deposit their waste batteries at collection points on the premises of all battery retailers once the waste batteries are equivalent to the type which is sold on the premises. Waste batteries and accumulators can also be brought to the Kinsale Road Civic Amenity site. Waste batteries and accumulators should never be disposed of in household bins.

Queries

For further details, or if you have any queries on the regulations, contact 021-4924000.

Legislation and links to further information

Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment - Batteries

Environmental Protection Agency

WEEE Ireland

Please Note: This page is a guide only. It does not intend to provide, and should not be relied upon as, a legal interpretation of the regulations. Cork City Council advises you to read the Regulations in full.