Japan – mandatory car battery collection, recycling being considered

A governmental committee has been established to discuss a mandatory system for collecting and recycling used car batteries, and its first meeting was held on May 11, 2005. Japan for Sustainability (JfS) reports that the committee consists of the members of the Central Environment Council, an advisory panel to the Environment Minister, and the Industrial Structure Council, an advisory body to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.



In the meeting, the committee agreed on a policy to add automobile batteries to the list of products which are required to be collected and recycled by manufacturers and importers under the Law for Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources. The policy aims to prevent illegal dumping of used batteries and promote battery recycling.



Since October 1994, battery manufacturers in Japan have voluntarily collected used automobile batteries for recycling at auto parts stores and gas stations, and have purchased the recovered lead. Despite these efforts, however, the number of used batteries that were left on roads or dumped illegally has increased due to a growing number of imported batteries and lower prices of recycled lead, making this a more serious public issue.



Used car batteries, which contain lead and sulfuric acid, are more difficult to dispose of than general waste. As a result, municipalities have not taken any measures to collect them