Battery Stewardship raised in Australian Parliament Question Time

The focus on batteries sharpens

This week Minister Susan Ley responded to a question on notice from Ms Sharkie which put the focus on battery stewardship.  In particular Ms Sharkie asked "Will proposed stewardship schemes for batteries and photovoltaic systems be implemented under the Act; if so when; if not, why not."

Importantly the Minister re-stated the Government's commitment to battery stewardship "At the ninth MEM in November 2019, Ministers agreed to strongly encourage major battery manufacturers, Energizer and Duracell, to participate in a new industry-led Battery Stewardship Scheme to improve the rate of battery recycling. The Government has indicated it will move to a Regulatory Impact Statement process from January 2020."

Support to date is strong and growing

BSC is in the final stages of preparing the application to the ACCC for authorisation.  Letters of support continue to come in and we have been listing BSC Initiators on the BSC Website.  We are very pleased with the support provided from industry associations, individual companies and government.    

Be part of the solution

We encourage those who have not yet or are in the process of preparing their letters to join the growing band of BSC initiators.   

The template letter is provided as a basis for you to adapt to suit your organisations objectives and perspectives.

Ideally we would like to receive letters of support as soon as possible, however we realise that this may be difficult given the time required to seek internal approval for some organisations.  If that is the case, please just keep us in the loop so we can plan accordingly.   

Thank you!

This stage represents the culmination of extensive work and discussions by BSC members and the broader industry. The process began in 2013 when batteries where first listed by Government as a priority for action. For those of us who are close to the process it is clear that the time for action is now. We have an opportunity to lead the way to achieving an industry-led Scheme. 

BSC would like to take this opportunity to thank you in particular,  for engaging in this important initiative, for discussing the challenges and possible solutions, and for providing advice and feedback during each stage of the design process. Only by imagining the possibilities and working through the options have we been able to reach this important milestone.