You can return all batteries and small accumulators free of charge and without an obligation to purchase new ones to any store that sells them. In other words, take them where you bought them.
You can recycle larger batteries, such as those found in electric bicycles or self-balancing scooters, through their importer. You can find recycling points for automotive batteries here: www.kierrätys.info
The collection points operating at stores accept all hand-carried and sealed accumulators such as those used in electronics, handheld power tools, toys and small household appliances. The collection points do not accept accumulators used in electric means of transportation, such as electric bicycles and self-balancing scooters. You can receive instructions for recycling such accumulators from the importer. a.
Various batteries and small accumulators.
In order to avoid a fire hazard, the terminals of all batteries and accumulators containing a residual charge, especially lithium batteries and accumulators, must be taped over as soon as they are removed from their device or discarded. You can recognise lithium batteries and accumulators by their “Li-” marking.
Be sure to keep all batteries and accumulators out of the reach of children and pets. Especially small button cell batteries may cause a choking hazard or an injury if swallowed!
Lithium batteries.
Discarded batteries and accumulators usually have a residual electric charge in them. When they come in contact with one another, they may short-circuit and even cause a fire. The risk of fire is easy to minimise by covering the terminals of all batteries and accumulators with adhesive tape as soon as they are removed from their device. Lithium batteries and accumulators are especially prone to reacting to other batteries and metal objects, which is why you should tape the terminals of all batteries and accumulators.
Pack all leaking batteries and accumulators in a plastic bag. If your skin has come into contact with the leaking fluid, rinse it with plenty of water in order to prevent skin irritation.
Ask the store personnel for help. Some stores are unable to place the collection box safely in the customer area, whereby the store accepts batteries and accumulators at the cash register, for example.
When placed in mixed waste, batteries and accumulators cause a fire hazard. Furthermore, the raw materials contained in them are not recycled when placed in mixed waste. When taken to collection points, approximately half of the raw materials contained in batteries and accumulators can be recycled as materials. Additionally, the incineration processes of waste processing plants are not designed for waste containing metal.
You can return small amounts at the collection points run by stores. If necessary, you can order a delivery box for larger amounts here. Very large amounts (more than 700 kg a year) have their own transport equipment, please contact info(a)recser.fi for more information.
All batteries and accumulators taken to collection points are transported to the Akkuser Oy processing plant in Nivala. At the plant, they are first sorted into different fractions, as different battery and accumulator types require different kinds of processing. From the Akkuser plant, the different fractions or materials are transported to the company’s co-operation partners. For example, lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones and laptops are crushed at the Akkuser plant, after which the materials contained in them can be separated mechanically. One of the raw materials contained in lithium batteries is cobalt, which is refined from the raw material into pure cobalt at the Freeport Cobalt plant in Kokkola. In total, more than 50% of the raw materials contained in batteries and accumulators can be reused. Read more about battery and accumulator recycling here.
You can return the device and its battery to a waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection point, more information at www.serkierratys.fi/en. The battery is removed from the device at a WEEE pre-processing plant, from where it is delivered to battery and accumulator processing.
Yes, the Waste Act stipulates that every sales outlet that sells batteries and accumulators must accept used batteries and accumulators from end users free of charge and without an obligation to buy new products.
Place the battery collection receptacle in a monitored, dry and room-temperature place near suitable fire extinguishing equipment and a fire and/or smoke alarm system.
In addition to placing the collection receptacle properly, remember the following instructions:
You can find ready-made instruction materials for both the collection point staff and returners here (only in Finnish and Swedish). We are also happy to receive any development suggestions regarding the materials or other questions at info(a)recser.fi.
Batteries and accumulators are subject to legislation regarding the transport of hazardous materials and can therefore only be transported in transport packages that meet the legal requirements and feature the necessary labelling. You can order transport boxes free of charge, as well as pick-ups for them, from Recser Oy. See more information here.
Batteries and accumulators are subject to producer responsibility legislation, meaning that their importer takes care of the pick-ups of batteries and accumulators collected by distributors and other locations at its own expense. We also do not charge a fee for any transport boxes delivered for packaging.
In practice, the producer transfers the costs of arranging the waste management in the price of the battery or accumulator all the way to the end user. The end user has the right to return a used product conveniently and free of charge to an organised collection point.
What does producer responsibility mean?
Producer responsibility refers to companies’ obligation to arrange the waste management of products they have placed on the market at their own expense when the products are discarded. However, arranging the waste management or collection of their own products is not enough, as the producers of portable batteries and accumulators must take part in picking up batteries and accumulators collected by distributors everywhere in Finland. All producers are also entered either through a producer organisation or directly into an authority register.
The producer responsibility pertains to packages, paper, tyres, vehicles, batteries and accumulators as well as electric devices. The importers and manufacturers of these products bear the producer responsibility for them. As for packages, the packers and importers of packaged products bear the producer responsibility. See more information about carrying out industry-specific producer responsibilities here: www.ymparisto.fi/en-US
In legislation, portable batteries and accumulators refer to all batteries and small accumulators that are sealed and can be carried by hand and are not industrial or automotive batteries or accumulators. They are typically used in devices such as watches, toys, flashlights, portable media players, mobile phones, cameras, computers and electric power tools such as drills. The classification is based on the primary intended purpose of the battery or accumulator more than its size. For example, the batteries used in electric bicycles or other electric means of transport are classified as industrial batteries even though they are not always very large.
Various batteries and small accumulators.
Industrial batteries and accumulators refer to batteries and accumulators designed exclusively for industrial or professional use or used in electric means of transportation. These include batteries and accumulators designed for devices such as solar panels, professional measuring instruments, emergency and back-up power sources, electric bicycles, self-balancing scooters, payment terminals, trains and aircraft. With the exception of lead-acid batteries and accumulators, their producer responsibility must be carried out by submitting an application to the producer register of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) of Pirkanmaa.
Yes, to batteries and accumulators placed on the market inside both vehicles and electric or electronic devices.
Yes. The sales channel of batteries and accumulators does not matter, meaning that the producer responsibility pertains to all batteries and accumulators.
For batteries and accumulators, the producer responsibility falls on natural or legal persons located in Finland who professionally place batteries or accumulators on the market in Finland for the first time, regardless of the sales method. (Government Decree 422/2008)
Producers of portable batteries and accumulators can easily take care of the registering process and other producer responsibility obligations through Recser Oy, the producer organisation running Battery Recycling, established by battery and accumulator producers and approved as a producer organisation for portable batteries and accumulators. Read more about transferring the producer responsibility here.
The Waste Act stipulates that producers of a certain industry can establish a producer organisation to take care of their producer responsibility obligations. Once the producer responsibility has been transferred to the producer organisation, the producer only has to tell its customers that it has taken care of its producer obligations in a responsible manner and provide the producer organisation with information regarding the amounts of products placed on the market in accordance with an agreed upon schedule. The producer must also make sure that the batteries and accumulators placed on the market feature the required labelling and come with instructions for detaching them.
Upon registration, every producer is charged a one-off registration fee, in addition to which they must pay recycling fees determined by the amounts of products they place on the market. The recycling fees vary in accordance with the recyclability of the batteries or accumulators. You can receive a valid recycling fee price list by contacting Elker Oy’s producer service by e-mail at jasenpalvelut(a)elker.fi or by telephone at +358 (0)10 249 1700.
The more producers take part in sharing the costs, the lower the fees. It is therefore important that no producer leaves its waste management costs for the others to pay.
In practice, arranging the waste management of portable batteries and accumulators means arranging their pick-up from all store locations that sell batteries and accumulators, as well as other collection points in Finland, and their processing thereafter, the goal of which is to recycle the materials. In practice, the easiest way to take care of producer responsibility matters is to join a producer organisation that sees that all producer obligations are fulfilled everywhere in Finland.
Once your producer responsibility has been transferred to Recser Oy, which runs Battery Recycling, we will notify the authorities on your behalf and take care of arranging your waste management and recycling. All your company has to do is tell its customers that it has taken care of its producer obligations in a responsible manner and provide Recser Oy with information regarding the amounts of products placed on the market in accordance with an agreed upon schedule.
Yes, the producer responsibilities pertaining to batteries and accumulators and those pertaining to electric and electronic devices are entirely separate, and the responsibility for batteries and accumulators cannot be carried out through a producer organisation for electric and electronic devices. Devices placed on the market are reported without the weight of their batteries or accumulators and the batteries and accumulators are reported separately to Recser Oy.
If a company neglects its producer responsibilities, the authorities can impose a non-conformity fee that is determined by the company’s turnover, up to €500,000. The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) of Pirkanmaa acts as the national authority, except in Åland. You can find more information at www.ymparisto.fi/en-US
The website of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) of Pirkanmaa, which is the authority supervising producer responsibilities, has a list of all producers accepted directly to an authority register, as well as links to different producer organisations’ websites. Producer organisations maintain an up-to-date register of producers who have transferred their producer responsibility on their websites.
You can submit an anonymous tip to Recser Oy at info(a)recser.fi or +358 (0)10 249 1717 or directly to the supervisory authority at ympariston.asiakaspalvelu(at)ely-keskus.fi or +358 (0)295 020 900.
A large industrial battery or accumulator refers to an industrial battery or accumulator designed exclusively for industrial or professional use, the size of which does not allow for easy manual carrying. In this context, large industrial batteries and accumulators do not refer to the accumulators of electric vehicles, such as electric and hybrid cars or electric motorcycles, in which the accumulator is integrated into the device and not intended for the end user to remove at any point.
Examples of large industrial batteries and accumulators include, but are not limited to batteries and accumulators used for emergency or back-up power in hospitals, airports or offices, batteries and accumulators used in trains and aircraft, forklift batteries and batteries and accumulators used on oil rigs at sea and in lighthouses.
You can take care of your producer responsibility for large industrial batteries and accumulators in terms of registration and reporting through Recser Oy. The producer is responsible for organising the reception of the batteries and accumulators and other waste management. Recser Oy has negotiated with waste management operators to create a reception model with which the producer can easily recycle batteries and accumulators as required by law.
Alternatively, the producer of large industrial batteries and accumulators can submit an application to the producer register administrated by the responsible authority and directly report the batteries and accumulators that it has both placed on the market and recycled with its chosen waste management operator.
Producers of large industrial batteries and accumulators that make a producer responsibility transfer agreement with Recser Oy pay a one-off registration fee to cover expenses upon registration. Additionally, Recser Oy charges an annual fee for compiling annual reporting information for the authorities to cover administrative expenses. The producer pays the accumulator recycling costs directly to its chosen waste management operator as accumulators are returned for recycling. The Waste Act allows for the producer to agree on dividing the waste management costs for large industrial batteries and accumulators with the last holder of the accumulator (Waste Act 646/2011, section 53).
Producers that have made a producer responsibility transfer agreement with Recser Oy can report all batteries and accumulators of different classes placed on the market at the same time in their quarterly reporting. Recser Oy also collects information about large industrial accumulators received and recycled by the producer directly from producers and agreement operators and submits the information to the authorities on an annual basis. When taking care of its producer responsibility through Recser Oy, the producer does not need to separately register with or report to the producer register administrated by the responsible authority. This is especially convenient for producers who place batteries and accumulators belonging to different classes onto the market.
When processing and recycling discarded batteries and accumulators, the priority order set in section 8 of the Waste Act (646/2011) must be followed- where possible. The storage, recycling and other processing of separately collected discarded batteries and accumulators must be organised in accordance with the general requirements set in section 9 of Government Decree 520/2014 regarding batteries and accumulators. The Decree stipulates, among other things, that the best available techniques must be used, and that it must be ensured that the recycling efficiency requirements set in section 10 are met. Section 11 of the Decree separately prohibits the placing of industrial batteries and accumulators in a landfill or disposing of them by incineration.
Additionally, the producer must note that discarded batteries may only be returned to authorised businesses, and that if discarded accumulators are to be delivered abroad, an international waste transfer permit granted by Finnish Environment Institute is required.
