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In Switzerland, the disposal of spent batteries is regulated by law. Regulatory requirements regarding the recycling of batteries are extremely high in Switzerland and provide material for political discussions time and again. Below please find information on selected topics.
Legislation
Export ban on spent batteries?
Price for battery recycling in Switzerland
Different environmental standards in Europe and Switzerland
Batrec’s „monopoly situation”
Legislation
According to the Swiss law, spent batteries are hazardous waste. Compared with its neighbors, Switzerland has very high requirements regarding environmental compatibility in recycling spent batteries. Swiss legislation requires that pollutants be recycled completely and that the release of pollutants into the environment through residual waste be avoided. Batrec Industrie AG complies with the legal requirements 100 percent. Compliance is constantly reviewed by the Swiss authorities and can be proved by a mass balance.
Export ban on spent batteries?
No general export ban on batteries is in force in Switzerland. However, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has so far banned the export of spent batteries abroad specifically in those cases where the applicant was unable to provide sufficient evidence that he is able to meet Swiss standards at his production site. In a decision of December 11, 2006 the Federal Court confirmed this practice once more. The Court finally ruled against a company processing spent batteries in France which claimed that their manufacturing processes is environmentally sound and upheld the FOEN's export ban. A crucial factor was the lack of evidence regarding recyclable material and recovery of pollutants, especially mercury. The applicant failed to submit sufficient evidence to the Federal Court that the pollutants would be recycled completely in accordance with Swiss legislation. Another factor was that the French Environmental Office has raised objections against this company several times.
Decision of the Federal Court
Price for battery recycling in Switzerland
Every Swiss citizen pays 1.45 francs per year for the recycling of spent batteries. What he gets in return is simply the most environmentally sound disposal of spent batteries worldwide and the guarantee that the materials can be re-used to a large extent. Certainly, batteries can be disposed of at lower costs abroad – however, not as friendly to the environment. Because Switzerland is such a small country, Batrec is processing smaller volumes than foreign recycling companies. This difference in volume also has an impact on the price. However, 1.45 francs are still a low price for a considerable service that benefits both the environment and our health.
Different environmental standards in Europe and Switzerland
Spent batteries are considered hazardous waste in the entire EU. However, when it comes to the disposal of hazardous waste, the regulatory requirements of EU differ from those in Switzerland.
The legislations in other European countries is still satisfied with a much lower standard or much lower requirements regarding the environmental compatibility of battery recycling. In Switzerland it is not permitted any more, unlike in other European countries, to deposit hazardous waste. The last hazardous waste landfill site (Kölliken) was closed and today it even has to be rehabilitated. Moreover, legislation banning the dilution of waste is in force in Switzerland.
Abroad, different processing techniques are employed to recycle spent batteries, which are less expensive, but, on the other hand, quite problematic in terms of the ecology. The main problem is that these methods do not permit to trace and measure the toxic substances completely. In large plants, they will mix with products, residual products or residual waste and may be released diffusely into the environment.
Future European legislation will increasingly approximate Swiss standards and significantly raise the requirements for battery recycling.
Batrec’s „monopoly situation”
It would be wrong to maintain that Batrec Industrie AG has a monopoly for recycling spent batteries in Switzerland. Fact is that Batrec Industrie AG today is the only company that is able to meet the high technical and ecological requirements of Swiss legislation. Batrec Industrie AG will bear any comparison. If a competitor would fulfill these requirements to the same extent, nothing would stand in the way of free competition.
