Producers responsibility for batteries
The Swedish EPA has a number of e-services for producer responsibility systems. Placing batteries on the Swedish market entails producer responsibility for batteries.
Target group
Foreign companies that place batteries on the Swedish market.
Legislation
EEE/WEEE
Other relevant legislation for the producer responsibility
Hazardous substances
Legal enforcement
News
New IBAN and bank giro numbers on notices regarding producer responsibility
Please note that from 2023 the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency have new IBAN and bankgiro numbers on notices relating to producer responsibility.
- 5981-6918 (IBAN SE64 1200 0000 0128 1010 1566)
Notices regarding regulatory fees for electrical equipment, batteries, packaging, wet wipes, fishing gear, balloons, tobacco filters, PRO and the product fee for littering. - 5981-6843 (IBAN SE86 1200 0000 0128 1010 1558)
Notices regarding cadmium charges, return system and the annual fee for littering.
Notices will be sent in the autumn.
Who is considered a producer?
A natural or legal person who professionally places a battery on the Swedish market for the first time is considered a producer, irrespective of the selling technique used.
A retailer that is not the first to place a battery on the Swedish market is not considered a producer.
Battery producers that sell directly to users in Sweden from another country are not required to appoint an authorized representative. However, the same producer responsibility requirements apply to all producers, whether they are based in Sweden or not.
Producer obligations
All producers are obligated to register in the Swedish EPA's e-services for producer responsibility systems (EUPA).
Annually, by March 31, all producers shall report to the Swedish EPA the quantity of batteries placed on the Swedish market for the previous calendar year as well as collected and treated quantities of waste batteries.
If you are considered a producer you are required to follow the Swedish Ordinance (2008:834) on producer responsibility for batteries, which is the Swedish implementation of the EU directive 2006/66/EG on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators.
Legislation and enforcement
The Swedish EPA's role is to inform, guide and ensure compliance with the regulation. Any violation may lead to regulatory measures, environmental sanction charges or prosecution.
E-service producer responsibility
Companies and organisations affected by producer responsibility can submit (or update) their information to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency via the e-service for producer responsibility.
Reporting from recycling facilities
According to EU Regulation 493/2012 recycling facilities need to report the recycling efficiency of the batteries that they receive from producers in the EU. Deadline for the reporting to the Swedish EPA is the 30th April for batteries received at the recycling facility in the preceding year.
The reporting of recycling efficiencies from the facilities is required on top of the reporting provided by battery producers by the 31st March.
Who should provide the reporting?
- For batteries recycled in Sweden: The recycling facilities need to report the recycling efficiency of the batteries they receive to the competent authority (the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, EPA).
- For batteries recycled outside Sweden: The stakeholder that supplies waste batteries to the recycling facility abroad, i.e. the exporter, needs to submit the report to the competent authority in the country where the waste batteries are collected and exported from.
What should be reported and how?
The recycling efficiency per battery type of batteries received at the facility in 2022 from the producers, as well as how that recycling efficiency was calculated. In other words, the input and output fractions for all waste batteries received in 2022. However, the facility or exporter does not need to know when the specific waste batteries that a producer supplied completed the full recycling process. But the waste batteries need to have been received by the facility, waste batteries in interim storage should not be included.
The required information is shown in templates provided in the annexes of the EU Regulation 493/2012, which can be accessed below. Use the templates and send them to kundtjanst@naturvardsverket.se.
You do not need to submit a report to the Swedish EPA regarding the recycling efficiencies if no waste batteries have been sent to a recycling facility during the preceding year.
Templates for reporting and guidance
For more information and for accessing the reporting forms, please find EU-regulation 493/2012 and the guidance from the EU Commission.
Collection of waste batteries
Producers shall take financial and organisational responsibility for the collection and treatment of waste batteries. Below is a description of these provisions.
Collective systems
As a producer you are required to ensure there is an appropriate collection scheme that can collect all batteries you sell as soon as they are considered waste. Collective collection schemes for waste batteries do not, unlike those for waste electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), need a permit to be established, but there are still certain requirements that they need to meet to be considered adequate.
Individual collection schemes
A producer may, provided that certain requirements are fulfilled, establish an individual collection scheme for waste batteries instead of joining a national collective collection scheme. If you wish to individually collect waste batteries that you have producer responsibility for, please contact the Swedish EPA to evaluate if you meet the set requirements according to the Ordinance (2008:834) on producer responsibility for batteries.
Collective schemes for portable batteries
Established national collective collection schemes for portable waste batteries are:
Recipo (earlier Elektronikåtervinning i Sverige)
El-Kretsen AB also collects larger lithium ion batteries.
Collective systems for lead batteries
A collective system for lead batteries is:
Collection schemes for built in batteries
No separate battery collection scheme is needed if batteries are built into products that are covered by the following producer responsibility systems:
- Ordinance (2014:1075) on producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment,
- Ordinance (2007:185) on producer responsibility for vehicles, or
- Ordinance (2007:193) on producer responsibility for certain radioactive products and derelict radiation sources.
Thus, if you are a part of any of these collective waste collection schemes for a product witha built in battery, you are not required to take part in a separate system for the batteries.
Requirements for collection schemes
All collection schemes shall:
- be easily accessible
- give good service for households, municipalities and others who want to return their waste batteries
- facilitate for households and others to handle batteries separate from other waste
- be accessible for all registered battery producers (i.e. not discriminating)
- be designed in a way that secures the environmental safety and health for individuals handling the batteries in the system
- be sufficiently allocated in relation to the battery's expected use, population density and other circumstances.
All producers have an obligation to make sure that the collection scheme meets the requirements of the Ordinance (2008:834) on producer responsibility for batteries, regardless of whether the collection scheme is individual or collective.
Small producers
The responsibility to take care of waste batteries does not apply to small producers that in one calendar year places on the market.
- less than 1 kg of mercury batteries,
- less than 2 kg of cadmium batteries,
- less than 250 kg of lead batteries that individually weighs more than 3 kg,
- less than 100 kg of lead batteries that individually weighs less than 3 kg or
- less than 50 kg other batteries.
Small producers are still required to register to the Swedish EPA and annually report information.
Batteries within scope
Most battery types are covered by producer responsibility. Below you will find the definition of a battery.
Batteries covered by producer responsibility
The producer responsibility system covers all batteries, except for the ones:
- used in protection of important security interests for a member state of the European Union, weapons, ammunition or war equipment,
- where the material has been manufactured for a specific military purpose, or
- intended to be sent into space.
The definition of a battery
A battery is defined as any source of electrical energy generated by direct conversion of chemical energy and consisting of one or more battery cells.
In the legislation, batteries are grouped as follows:
- Industrial batteries: a battery exclusively for industrial or other professional use, alternatively in electrical vehicles.
- Automotive batteries: a battery to be used in a starting engine, lighting or ignition system of a vehicle and not being an industrial battery.
- Portable batteries: a sealed and easily portable battery that is not labeled as an automotive or industrial battery.
Prohibited substances and labeling
Regulations for content and labeling.
Mercury prohibition
Batteries containing more than 0,0005 weight percent of mercury are, since October 13 2015, prohibited to be commercially imported or provided at the Swedish market. The ban also applies to batteries built in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).
Remaining stock of button cell batteries containing mercury are allowed to be commercially brought to Sweden and place on the Swedish market after October 13, 2015.
Cadmium prohibition
Portable batteries containing more than 0,002 weight percent of cadmium are, since October 13 2015, prohibited to be commercially imported or provided at the Swedish market.
The ban also applies to integrated batteries in electrical and electronic equipment.
The prohibition does not apply to portable batteries tended to be used in:
- emergency lighting systems and other emergency- and alarm systems, or
- medical equipment.
Since January 1 2017 the prohibition covers cadmium in cordless power tools. Still, remaining stock of cordless power tools are allowed to be commercially brought to Sweden and placed on the Swedish market after January 1, 2017.
Environmental fee for cadmium batteries
Producers of batteries containing cadmium are charged with an environmental fee of 300 SEK per kilogram. The fee is issued by the Swedish EPA based on the producer´s annual report to the battery register.
Labeling batteries
All batteries shall be labeled with a crossed-over wheeled bin. This is to prevent that consumed batteries are recycled among other waste. The symbol shall be visible, legible and indestructible. Further:
- The symbol shall cover at least 3 percent of the battery´s largest surface, up to a size of 5x5 cm.
- On cylindrical batteries, the symbol shall cover at least 1,5 % of the battery surface. The symbol shall not be bigger than 5x5 cm.
- If the size of the battery is so small that 3 % of the battery surface is smaller than 0,5x0,5 cm, the symbol shall be placed on the package of the battery. The size of the symbol shall be 1x1 cm.
- Batteries containing:
More than 0,0005 weight percent mercury shall be marked with Hg.
More than 0,002 weight percent cadmium shall be marked with Cd.
More than 0,004 weight percent lead shall be marked with Pb.
The chemical indication shall be placed below the symbol of a crossed-over wheeled bin and at least be a quarter as big in size. This is to inform those who handle waste batteries.
Capacity marking for portable rechargeable batteries and car batteries
After May 30 2012 all portable, rechargeable batteries and car batteries released on the market for the first time shall be marked showing the battery capacity. This was stated in the Ordinance of the Commission (EU) nr 1103/2010, published November 30 2010 in the official journal of the European Union.
The new regulations states that the capacity of all rechargeable batteries shall be marked, expressed in milliampere hours (mAh) or ampere hours (Ah). Additionally, car batteries shall be marked with cold start ampere (A).
The Ordinance does not apply for portable secondary (rechargeable) batteries and accumulators that are either integrated in or constructed to be integrated in other equipment before being delivered to the end user, or not intended to be removed according to article 11 in the Directive 2006/66/EG.
Inform about batteries
Producers shall inform the users of batteries about:
- potential impacts on human health and the environment associated with some of the substances contained in the batteries,
- what the labeling stands for and refers to,
- the obligation to sort and handle waste containing batteries separately from other waste, according to the ordinance on waste (2020:614), and
- available collective systems and how the consumers can contribute to the recycling of batteries.
Enforcement authority and enforcement fees
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the municipalities are the appointed enforcement authorities for the producer responsibility of batteries.
Enforcement authority for producer responsibilities
The EPA is responsible for compiling information from producers and to evaluate and enforce producers' compliance with the producer responsibility provisions.
Swedish data on producer responsibility for EEE and batteries is collected from producers and collective schemes by the EEB-register and then reported by the EPA to the EU-commission.
Annual enforcement fee
The EPA charge an annual fee for enforcement of electrical and electronic equipment and batteries. The fee covers administration expenses, managing of the EEB-register and other expenses in order to enforce compliance. The annual fee has been set to 1000 SEK for each producer responsibility. For producers of both EEE and batteries the total fee is 2000 SEK. Payment information is sent to the e-mail address specified in the e-service. Please double check to confirm the accuracy of the e-mail address indicated in the collection system register. If the e-mail address is not specified, the payment information will be sent to the address specified by the Swedish Companies Registration Office.
If Purchase Order number is required, please register under Reference Number using the e-service. Regarding the enforcement fee the Swedish EPA is not to be seen as a supplier as there is no agreement between the parties. This is an enforcement fee and not a sale of goods or services.The fee contains all necessary information for your payment transaction.
Background
Producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment has been established in Sweden since 2001.
The Environmental Protection Agency has been assigned as the enforcement authority through Section 24 in the Ordinance (2011:13) on environmental enforcement and is responsible for reviewing that the nationwide regulations on producer responsibility are fulfilled.
The Swedish Ordinance (2014:1075) on producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), which entered into force in October 2014, is the Swedish implementation of the WEEE-directive. WEEE is short form waste electrical and electronic equipment.
The scope of the producer responsibility changed in 2018. The categories of EEE changes and the producer responsibility will cover more product types.
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