Portable batteries
Different batteries have to be treated in different ways. Producer responsibility also differs depending on battery type. The definition of a portable battery is one that is sealed, small enough to be carried and neither an industrial battery nor a car battery.
As a producer of large amounts of portable batteries, you are required to belong to an approved collection system, label your products and provide your end users with information on how to recycle these products. It is also your responsibility to submit a report to the Swedish EPA every year with the quantities of products you have sold and treated.
At El-Kretsen, we will assist you with your producer responsibilities and we are also happy to share our knowledge and provide information in this field.
There are exceptions for producers of minor quantities of portable batteries. Please refer to the explanation at the bottom of this page.
Regardless of what number of batteries you place on the market, you are welcome to list yourself as an El-Kretsen affiliated producer and use our services. We accept all kinds of batteries, but we differentiate between portable batteries and large industrial batteries as they have to undergo different treatment processes.
Portable industrial batteries are generally collected by recycling centres. Such batteries are designed solely for industrial or other professional purposes or for use in electric vehicles. Examples of these are batteries for electric bicycles and electric mopeds, industrial tools and suchlike. If you deal in these kinds of batteries, regular car batteries (not batteries for electric vehicles) and ordinary small batteries, you are welcome to sign the Affiliation Agreement for Batteries.
Main points for those who place batteries on the Swedish market:
- Join an approved collection system (El-Kretsen)
- Report annual statistics to the Swedish EPA (undertaken by El-Kretsen)
- Supply consumers with information on contents, collection and recycling (with help from and reference to El-Kretsen)
- Label products with the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol
At no extra charge, El-Kretsen offers to report to the Swedish EPA the quantities sold, collected and treated by the producer.
You can find the legislation in its entirety here (in Swedish).
Taking environmental responsibility should be simple!
The Declaration Portal – everything in one place
When you join El-Kretsen, you become part of the national collection system. You will declare the volumes you have sold and we will deal with the collection of your products and batteries at the end of their useful life. As our customer you get your own Declaration Portal. Here, we have gathered all kinds of facts ranging from information on product classification to certificates, agreements and statistics. This is also where you do your monthly or quarterly reporting.
To join, please fill in a customer application. Once your application has been approved, you will receive your log-in details for the Declaration Portal so that you can log in and enter into the agreement(s) of your choice. This will then enable you to access your certificates, which you will need to be able to register with the Swedish EPA.
The Swedish EPA, Naturvårdsverket, is the responsible supervisory authority, and it charges an annual fee from all producers. For more guidance on producer responsibility, and to register your company, please visit their website.
Affiliate to El-Kretsen
To join, please fill in a customer application.
Fees and charges
El-Kretsen’s price list for producers lists the annual fees relating to different agreements as well as the environmental fees for products and batteries. The latter have been divided into product categories with individual codes to provide fair fees that represent the actual cost related to different batteries. Batteries undergo different treatment processes depending on their chemical components, and this in combination with how far they need to be transported is reflected in the price list.
You can read more about our fees here.
Exceptions
Producers who only put small quantities of portable batteries into circulation may be exempted from the responsibility of taking care of the battery waste and of being affiliated to a collection system. Please note that this exemption does not include reporting their annual sales volumes to the Swedish EPA.
You are exempt from the producer responsibility for batteries if you release:
- less than 1 kilo of mercury batteries/year
- less than 2 kilos of cadmium batteries/year
- less than 250 kilos of lead batteries each weighing more than 3 kilos/year
- less than 100 kilos of lead batteries each weighing less than 3 kilos/year
- less than 50 kilos of other kinds of batteries/year