Batteries Regulation: consultation on new methodology for calculating the collection target

A crucial piece of the new Batteries Regulation is now taking shape.

On 17 September, experts from Oeko-Institut and Fraunhofer IZM presented their draft methodology for calculating how many waste batteries are available for collection (AfC).

This approach is designed to replace the current “available on the market” calculation methodology, which often fails to reflect real volumes of end-of-life batteries entering waste streams.

The proposed AfC framework seeks to reflect reality more closely by factoring in battery lifetimes and the flows where batteries are typically lost:

• in mixed municipal waste
• inside WEEE that is not fully depolluted, or
• when batteries are repurposed, remanufactured or embedded in second-hand products traded across borders

To fill gaps where data is scarce, the proposed model relies on default values – for example, four years for non-rechargeable portable batteries, nine years for rechargeable ones – from which Member States may only deviate if they provide robust and verified evidence.

At its core, the new system is bound by the principle of equivalent ambition: collection rates must not fall below what would have been achieved under today’s rules.

In practice, this means higher numerical targets will be needed to match the ambition of the current framework.

Stakeholders now have the chance to shape this methodology. Written input is invited by 15 October 2025, with questions ranging from the right way to calculate waste generated (three-year or five-year averages) to how hoarding, repurposing or cross-border trade should be accounted for.

A second workshop is planned for December to analyse the feedback received.

The Commission will then move towards a delegated act, due by August 2027, with the first reference year expected in 2028.

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