S.L. 549.54 Art. 9Treatment and recycling. S.L. 549.89 S.L. 549.89

(1) Not later than 26th September 2009:

(a) producers, or third parties acting on their behalf, shall use existing treatment and recycling systems or set up treatment and recycling systems, individually or collectively, or both, in accordance with any existing laws and regulations, to provide for the treatment and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators, using best available techniques, in terms of the protection of health and the environment; and

(b) all identifiable waste batteries and accumulators collected in accordance with regulation 5 or with the Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic

Equipment) Regulations, shall undergo treatment and recycling through treatment and recycling systems that comply, as a minimum, with national legislation, in particular as regards health, safety and waste management: Provided that:

(i) collected portable batteries or accumulators containing cadmium, mercury or lead may be disposed of in landfills or underground storage when no viable end market is available or as part of a strategy to phase out heavy metals which, on the basis of a detailed assessment of the environmental, economic, and social impacts, shows that this disposal option should be preferred over recycling;

(ii) such an assessment shall be made public;

(iii) all economic operators and all competent public authorities may participate in these treatment and recycling systems; and

(iv) these treatment and recycling systems shall also apply to batteries and accumulators imported from third countries under non-discriminatory conditions and shall be designed to avoid barriers to trade or distortions of competition.

(2) Treatment shall meet the minimum requirements set out in Part A of Schedule 2.

(3) Where batteries or accumulators are collected together with waste electrical and electronic equipment on the basis of the Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations, batteries or accumulators shall be removed from the collected waste electrical and electronic equipment.

(4) Recycling processes shall, not later than 26th September 2011, meet the recycling efficiencies and associated provisions set out in Part B of Schedule 2.