EU agrees battery recycling law

The European Union has agreed the text of a law that will make recycling of batteries obligatory from 2008.

The directive will ban most batteries with more than a trace of the toxic chemicals cadmium or mercury.

It says a quarter of all used batteries must be collected by 2012 – rising to 45% by 2016 – and that at least half of them must be recycled.

It also says all batteries must be clearly labelled to show how long they will last, from 2009 onwards.

The compromise text was agreed by a delegation from the parliament and representatives of the member states on Tuesday, in a procedure known as conciliation.

BBC