ERP signs an agreement with the Government of Andalusia’s Ministry of Environment to advance battery and accumulator waste management

• Together with ERP, the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FAMP), Ecopiles and Ecolec have also signed the agreement.

The Minister of Environment and Land Management, José Fiscal, together with the President of the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, Fernando Rodríguez Villalobos, and representatives from the Collective Systems of Extended Producer Responsibility (SCRAP) for scrap batteries and accumulators, including the CEO of ERP Spain, Matías Rodrigues, met in Seville on January 15 to sign a collaboration framework agreement to advance the separate collection and subsequent treatment of this type of waste in the autonomous community.

At the signing ceremony, José Fiscal, Minister of Environment and Land Management, explained that the agreement is voluntary and will be applicable for four years. Other SCRAP and local corporations may also sign the agreement over that period, Fiscal said, underscoring that “one of the priorities [of the agreement] is to encourage the participation of the stakeholders involved”.

At the end of the ceremony, Matías Rodrigues said that “this agreement is an extremely important step for Andalusia towards achieving the collection targets set by law and growing to the 50% target for 2020″. The CEO of ERP Spain added that “the Convention establishes a clear framework for the relationship between the parties, which should have a impact on the improvement of these collection rates”.

The president of the FAMP, Fernando Rodríguez Villalobos, explained that the Federation’s purpose and goal is to expand to the 778 Andalusian city halls to ensure that local authorities comply with the law that sets the guidelines for local government in terms of the collection, transport and treatment of scrap batteries and accumulators, a highly hazardous category of waste. “Today, through recycling processes, 75% of a battery can be reused in the steel industry and the rest, the slag, in road asphalt”, said Villalobos.

The agreement aims to develop systems for the separate collection of these wastes, under criteria of social acceptance, technical efficiency and environmental and economic viability; to establish mechanisms that guarantee this collection, financing measures, as well as the social communication activities, through awareness campaigns aimed at raising the public’s awareness, designed to help meet the environmental targets established.

Data on battery and accumulator collection in Andalusia

Almost 100 million batteries and accumulators —2,155.71 tons— were put on the market in Andalusia in 2016. Through the systems that operate in Andalusia, 564 tons of waste of scrap batteries and portable accumulators were collected that same year, which represents a collection rate of almost 30%. The national average is around 40% and the autonomous community with the best rate is Catalonia, with 54%.