China Introduces Product Responsibility Plan to Standardize Recycling of Scrap Lead-Acid Battery

SHANGHAI, Jan. 5 (SMM) – China’s State Council has introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Plan recently. EPR is to require manufacturer to be responsible for the entire life-cycle of the product, including design, consumption, recycling and waste disposal.

The plan will first be introduced to electronics, automobiles, lead-acid batteries and packaging products. The details of EPR for lead-acid battery are as followed, according to the plan.

First, domestic lead-acid battery producers are encouraged to build a whole life traceability system for products and to recycle scrap batteries, including autonomic, allied and authorized recycling pattern, through producers’ own marketing channel or other professional firms’ recycling network.

Second, scrap standby and energy storage batteries should be disposed by professional firms.

Third, battery producers should research and improve recycling technology and cross-regional transport method.  

Fourth, Shanghai will be the first city to establish recycling system for lead-acid batteries and to recycle scrap lead-acid battery through “sell one battery and recycle one scrap battery” pattern as required.

The implementation, designed to standardize the market, will give a big blow to the disordered market of scrap lead-acid battery recycling. This will put an end to the illegal flow of scrap lead-acid batteries to traders, and then to unqualified secondary lead smelters, SMM points out, so as to reach recycling rate and reusing rate target of scrap lead-acid battery.

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