Environment Committee wants to ban nickel-cadmium batteries but grants exemptions 

In November 2003, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new Battery Directive. The proposal imposes an obligation to collect and recycle all batteries placed on the market in the EU so that they are not sent for landfill or incinerated and the various metals which they contain can be recovered. The Commission decided against a ban on nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries (see EurActiv 26 November 2003).

In its first reading of the draft directive on 6 April, the Parliament's Environment Committee adopted the report of its rapporteur Hans Blokland (EDD-Netherlands) calling for a stricter recycling scheme. The committee members also called on governments to prohibit sales of all batteries or accumulators containing more than 5 parts per million (ppm) of mercury by weight, 40 ppm of lead, and/or 20 ppm of cadmium. However, the MEPs endorsed a list of exemptions for those applications where no substitutes are available yet (cordless power tools, aeroplanes, trains ...).

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) showed its satisfaction over the committees' stricter demands, but regretted the list of exemptions. "The Water Framework Directive lists cadmium and its compounds as one out of 10 priority hazardous substances for which discharges, emissions and losses have to be ceased within 20 years. Viable alternatives, also for most power tools, are already available but are less competitive on the market due to the cheaper cadmium option. Under the substitution principle nickel-cadmium batteries CAN and MUST be phased out", said John Hontelez, EEB Secretary General.

The EU's batteries industry has been battling hard to prevent strict regulatory rules. It prefers good collection and recycling practices based on voluntary agreements.

The Parliament's plenary will vote on the Blokland report on 21 April. It is not sure whether the plenary will follow the committees' recommendation for a ban.