Collect ’em all: Push for mandatory battery recycling as voluntary scheme gets an extension

Forcing all manufacturers to recycle batteries at the end of their lives could deliver significant safety, environmental and financial benefits and should become a top priority for governments. 

The Battery Stewardship Council issued the call on Monday after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approved its voluntary battery-recycling scheme for an additional five years. 

The regulator noted a low number of batteries were being recycled by the program due to its voluntary nature, but warned it would be up to governments to change the rules. 

The announcements come weeks after the NSW government proposed mandatory battery recycling and opened public consultation into its plan, and after BMW teamed with an Australian firm to recover critical minerals from its electric car batteries. 

The Battery Stewardship Council’s recycling scheme, called B-cycle, has operated since 2022 and charges participating manufacturers a levy to collect and recycle batteries at the end of their lives. 

The scheme currently collects button, regular-sized and rechargeable batteries for recycling, and directs those with larger batteries, such as those from laptops or cars, to other providers. 

After assessing the program, the competition regulator concluded it benefited the public, deputy chair Mick Keogh said, and could continue for another five years without breaching competition laws. 

“We consider the scheme is likely to result in environmental benefits by diverting batteries from landfill as well as reducing fire risks,” he said. 

Conditions were placed on the scheme as part of its approval, however, including a continuation of its button battery safety strategy, a plan to consult with industry, annual reports on its outcomes, and an independent review within three years. 

The regulator also noted the number of batteries collected and recycled had been limited by voluntary participation, Mr Keogh said.

“The ACCC recognises that higher rates of participation in battery stewardship would substantially increase public benefits from greater collection and recycling of batteries,” he said. 

“It is … not the ACCC’s role to determine public policy outcomes or broader policy issues, including regulation reform to make battery stewardship mandatory.”

But mandatory battery recycling would be crucial to helping Australia tackle growing electronic waste, Battery Stewardship Council chief executive Libby Chaplin said, and the scheme could be expanded to accommodate it.

“Voluntary stewardship has taken us a long way but to meet the scale of the challenge ahead government regulation and mandatory stewardship is essential,” she said.

“We need participation at every stage of the battery lifecycle to ensure batteries are collected and recycled safely.”

In October, the NSW government proposed mandatory battery recycling for all battery brand owners, with penalties of up to $880,000 for firms that failed to comply.

BMW also announced it had partnered with Australian firm EcoBatt to recycle batteries from its electric cars, and could potentially recover 90 per cent of material for reuse.

AAP