Battery Boxes for the East of England?

4.52.40pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 21st Apr 2004

Battery collection boxes may soon start to appear in every home after Euro-MEPs gave their backing to plans to boost recycling and halt the leaching of acid from old batteries into soil and water.

The European Parliament is calling for a minimum of 50% of all household batteries used annually per person to be collected for recycling within five years.

Amongst EU nations only Belgium currently exceeds this collection target with battery collection boxes a familiar sight in homes and offices across Brussels. In Britain only industrial and vehicles batteries are recycled at present.

Controversially, MEPs have also called for the long-term replacement of nickel-cadmium and lead batteries by less toxic alternatives. They want an immediate ban on their use in household products such as electric toothbrushes and shavers but have supported exemptions for most other purposes until effective alternatives have been developed.

Andrew Duff, Liberal Democrat MEP for the east of England said it was a measured approach that balanced the potential hazards of cadmium with the reality that there were no effective alternatives for use in products such as cordless power tools and aviation control systems.

He said: "Cadmium is a carcinogenic substance that accumulates in the human body and is very toxic to aquatic life. We should be looking to develop alternatives and phase out its use, but the immediate priority is simply to make sure that we collect as many cadmium batteries as possible and ensure that they are safely recycled."

Consumer organisations are pressing for the proposed restrictions to be extended, but industry groups argue that the measures will increase costs and may result in some products being unintentionally banned altogether.

Iron, nickel and silver can all be recovered from recycled household batteries, which might otherwise contaminate soil and groundwater. Incineration of incinerated batteries can release toxins and heavy metals into the atmosphere.

EU environment ministers must now consider the draft legislation before returning to the European Parliament for a second reading.