Battery Directive

The 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, commonly known as the Battery Directive, regulates the manufacture and disposal of batteries in the European Union with the aim of "improving the environmental performance of batteries and accumulators". Batteries commonly contain hazardous elements such as mercury, cadmium, and lead, which when incinerated or landfilled, present a risk to the environment and human health. Directive 91/157/EEC was adopted on 18 March 1991 to reduce these hazards by harmonising EU member states' laws on the disposal and recycling of batteries containing dangerous substances. Directive 2006/66/EC repealed Directive 91/157/EEC and sets maximum quantities for certain chemicals and metals in certain batteries, tasks Member States with encouraging improvements to the environmental performance of batteries, requires proper waste management of these batteries, including recycling, collections, "take-back" programs, and disposal, sets waste battery collection rates, sets financial responsibility for programs, and makes rules covering most phases of this legislation, including labelling, marking, documentation, reviews, and other administrative and procedural matters. Directive 2006/66/EC was amended by Directive 2013/56/EU of 20 November 2013, as regards the placing on the market of portable batteries and accumulators containing cadmium intended for use in cordless power tools, and of button cells with low mercury content, and repealing Commission Decision 2009/603/EC. This directive, like many other European compliance directives, is not directly applicable, but requires legislative action from European Member States. Though European directives are legislation, European Union Member States must comply with them to avoid legal action that the European Commission can bring to bear if they don't. However Member States retain some freedom by what means they implement a directive's requirements.