Batteries responsibilities for business

If you treat or recycle waste batteries you must have a permit or licence. You may also need approval to be an approved battery treatment operator (ABTO).

Batteries - applying for a permit or licence

If you treat or recycle waste batteries you must have a waste management licence or registered exemption from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

You must comply with the conditions in your licence or you can be fined or sent to prison.

If you treat waste batteries and your licence was issued before 20 May 2009, you must comply with the following conditions:

• remove all fluids and acids from the batteries
• store waste batteries, and the materials that result from treatment, in secure, covered and impermeable areas

These conditions have been added to your licence by law.

If your licence was issued after 20 May 2009, you must comply with the conditions in your licence.

Apply to be an approved battery treatment operator

You must apply to NIEA to be an ABTO if you want to:

• carry out the initial treatment or recycling of automotive or industrial batteries
• issue batteries evidence notes for the treatment and recycling of waste portable batteries

If you are an ABTO you must make sure that you:

• use the best available technology to treat or recycle batteries
• comply with all relevant health and safety, and waste management regulations
• remove all fluids and acids from the batteries
• store waste batteries, and the materials that result from treatment, in secure, covered and impermeable areas

You must achieve minimum recycling levels of:

• 65 per cent of the average weight of all lead acid batteries
• 75 per cent of the average weight of all nickel cadmium batteries
• 50 per cent of the average weight of other waste batteries

Keep records of battery treatment

You must keep records of the amount in tonnes of batteries you accept for treatment or recycling. You must provide NIEA with details of the quantity of batteries you have dealt with and the amount you received from each battery compliance scheme.

You must provide batteries evidence notes to battery compliance scheme operators to confirm the number of tonnes of batteries you have accepted for treatment in a year. You must supply battery evidence notes before 30 April in the year following each compliance period.

You must supply to NIEA an independently audited report by 31 May in the following year for each year that you operate.