British battery retailers will open collection points where consumers can return their used and flat batteries, making it easier for people to recycle.

The recycling collection points will be set up in compliance with waste batteries and accumulators regulation, which follows a European Union directive established in 2006 that targets to increase battery recycling rates across all European member states.

The British regulation aims to establish a new producer responsibility system for the collection, treatment and recycling of waste portable, industrial and automotive batteries.

The legislation specifies that retailers who sell over 32 kilograms of batteries annually, or about one pack of four AA batteries, shall provide free recycling points for consumers to return their used batteries.

The types of batteries covered by the rules include those used in remote controls or toys, watch batteries, mobile phone and laptop batteries and larger ones used in power tools.

The legislation is expected to increase Britain’s battery collection and recycling rates from 3 percent to 25 percent by 2012 and up to 45 percent by 2016. This will help solve the country’s current problem of disposing more than 600 million batteries annually to landfills, where the units end up leaking harmful chemicals to the soil.

“This new legislation will make it easier for consumers to do the right thing whilst ensuring retailers [to] fulfill their part of the bargain. Old batteries can cause harm to the environment when they are not recycled,” said Huw Irranca-Davies, environment minister.

Meanwhile, with at least 50 percent of toys requiring batteries, British toy companies joined the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in its launch of the Be Positive campaign.

The campaign is the department’s implementation of the directive, which focuses on both portable and household battery provisions and on treatment provisions of all batteries.

On the other hand, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will handle the implementation on automotive and industrial batteries and single market provisions.

-   Jen Balboa