Brussels, 07/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - An agreement between the Parliament and Council was found on 5 June on amendments to the 2006 European directive on the recycling of batteries and accumulators, in order to strengthen its provisions on eliminating mercury and cadmium. This was immediately hailed by the Irish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers as a major step forward towards the development of safer batteries in the interest of human health and the environment. The agreement reached by the Presidency bans the use of cadmium in the chargers of cordless electrical appliances and button batteries containing mercury.
Directive 2006/66/EC already imposes a ban on the sale of batteries and accumulators containing mercury and cadmium but an exemption had been granted for batteries for cordless electrical appliances and button batteries containing low levels of mercury. The agreement reached with Parliament eliminates this exception and amends the directive clarifying that batteries must be easily removed by the end-users or by qualified professionals.
Given the adverse environmental impact of cadmium and mercury, Phil Hogan, who is president-in-office of the Environment Council, welcomed this constructive conclusion to the discussions with the European Parliament, saying: “Both substances are toxic where they accumulate in the environment and can cause irreversible damage. Alternative technologies continue to be developed and, as such, it is appropriate to act now to remove exemptions which are clearly out of date today. I am also satisfied that this agreement provides industry with the necessary scope for further technological development and innovation in this area”.
The Irish Presidency of the Council highlights the many advantages that can be expected from the agreement, namely: - a substantial reduction in the amount of cadmium annually brought into the European economy and used in everyday products and a corresponding reduction in the risk of cadmium releases into the environment; - a reduction in the intentional world extraction of cadmium from primary resources by more than 10%; - a reduction in the environmental impact from the use of mercury and the risks associated with mercury being released into the environment given that button cells, due to their size, are often inappropriately disposed of in municipal waste; - and acceleration of the switch to the manufacture of Hg-free (mercury-free) batteries. (AN/transl.jl)