Batteries responsibilities for business

If you place portable batteries on the United Kingdom market, either included with electrical equipment or separately, you must join a battery compliance scheme (BCS) or register directly with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

Battery compliance schemes

If you place more than one tonne of portable batteries per year on the UK market, you must join one of several approved BCSs by 15 October in the year preceding the compliance year. If you do not know by 15 October if you will be placing batteries on the market in the forthcoming compliance year, you must join a compliance scheme within 28 days of when you start placing batteries on the market. BCS act on behalf of producers of portable batteries to meet their collection and recycling obligations. You should consider the services each BCS offers and the associated costs.

You must provide your BCS with the sales data it requires.

A BCS takes responsibility for:

• registering producers on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD)
• reporting sales data
• publicity and collection
• making sure waste portable batteries are treated and recycled
• reporting recycling data

Small producers of portable batteries

If you place one tonne or less of portable batteries per year on the UK market, you must register directly with the NIEA using the NPWD. The NPWD is an integrated system that maintains a register of all types of battery producer - portable, industrial and automotive.

You must register using the NPWD within 28 days of the date when you first place portable batteries on the market. You must provide information about your business and the tonnage and chemistry type of batteries you place on the market.

Find information on battery producer responsibilities.

Find information on the NPWD on the Environment Agency website.

Record keeping

All producers must keep written records of the total amount of batteries in tonnes that they place on the market in the UK for the first time per year, every year.