We aim to simplify the complex Batteries Regulations so that UK companies can quickly get a firm understanding of the Regulations and their possible obligation. The questions below are designed to answer who is obligated by the Batteries Regulations and how it affects them.
Which businesses are affected by the battery regulations?
A producer is a company who puts batteries, or products containing batteries, onto the UK market for the first time. This includes batteries incorporated into appliances or vehicles. It generally means that you have not bought them from another UK supplier. You must also have a physical presence in the UK, such as a UK office, trading arm, or Post Office box.
A distributor of portable batteries is a company who sells more than 32kg of batteries per year to end users (this excludes batteries sold within equipment).
What type of batteries are affected?
Portable, industrial and automotive batteries are all in scope of the regulations.
- Automotive batteries are those used for the starting or the ignition of a vehicle engine.
- Industrial batteries are those designed for a specific industrial purpose. They may be sealed or unsealed
- Portable batteries are sealed batteries, capable of being hand-carried by the average person without difficulty. From January 2016 a battery can only be considered portable if it weighs less than 4kg. Any battery above 4kg will be considered industrial (or could be automotive).
What do I have to do as a batteries producer or distributor?
If you meet the criteria as a batteries producer you must:
- Register with a Producer Compliance Scheme or with the Environment Agency as relevant
- Declare the tonnage of batteries placed on the market by type on a quarterly or annual basis as required
- Fund the recycling of batteries as relevant, depending on the battery type you are placing on the market
As a portable batteries distributor you must offer in-store collection of portable batteries and publicise this take back offering.
How does the registration differ if I am a portable, industrial or automotive batteries producer?
A producer who places under 1 tonne of portable batteries on the market in a year has the option to register directly with the Environment Agency using their online system and submit their placed on market data to them on an annual basis.
A batteries producer who places over 1 tonnes of portable batteries on the market in a year must register with a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS) and submit their placed on market data quarterly.
A producer of industrial or automotive batteries can register directly with the Environment Agency and submit their placed on market data annually. However if the producer places industrial or automotive batteries on the market as well as portable batteries, often the PCS will submit this data to the Environment Agency alongside the portable data.
What is delegated authority?
The batteries regulations state that data submissions must be made by a legal Director of the company as listed on Companies House. There is a provision for the legal authority to make these submissions to be passed on to someone else and this can be done in four easy steps. If you are a large batteries producer, the authority must be delegated to someone in your company, however, if you are a batteries small producer this authority should be delegated to Comply Direct.
- If you are a small batteries producer, download the Delegated Authority form using the following link (/media/2003/ea-delegation-of-authority-batteries-npwd-template-2018.pdf/) OR if you are a full batteries producer, download the Delegated Authority form using this link (/media/2001/ea-delegation-of-authority-form-2018.pdf)
- Complete the form (this requires the signature of a legal director) and email it to batteries@environment-agency.gov.uk
- Copy in batteries@complydirect.com
- The Environment Agency will consider the request and either accept the delegation or reject it
The Environment Agency want to see that the person the authority is being delegated to has the relevant level of knowledge and access to the right data to make the submissions, so it is useful to include reference to that to avoid the form being rejected. The authority stays in place until either the Director is no longer a legal Director or the employee leaves. If you need any assistance please contact your Account Manager.
What should I do if my batteries question has not been answered here?
Please contact our expert batteries team at Comply Direct on 0844 873 1034 or by email to info@complydirect.com and we will be only too happy to help with your query.
