We use around 700m batteries a year in the UK. Although we have good recovery and recycling rates for industrial and automotive batteries, only around three percent (900 tonnes) of the 30000 tonnes of portable batteries placed on the market are recycled and the rest are landfilled. This is primarily because it costs an average of €90 per tonne to landfill household batteries, but €1 100 per tonne to collect and recycle them.rnThe Batteries and Accumulators Directive, which replaces an earlier, weaker, directive aims to reverse this situation and put a stop to the landfilling of large numbers of batteries, along with the associated heavy metals and other hazardous materials therein. Its key targets is that the UK must recover at least 25 percent (some 7500 tonnes) of portable (ie household) batteries by 2012 rising to 45 percent by 201 6. Member states had until 26 September 2008 to transpose the Directive into national law, but only nine met this deadline; the UK was not one of them.
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