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Producer organisations join forces to collect waste appliances, batteries and accumulators

Stichting OPEN, Stichting Batterijen, Stichting EPAC and Stichting Stibat Services have started an investigation that aims to implement administrative and operational integration before the end of the year. The producer organisations are joining forces to collect, sort and recycle waste electrical and electronic appliances and batteries.

The organisations want to contribute optimally and efficiently to the recovery of raw materials from discarded appliances, batteries and accumulators. They do this because of their social responsibility for realising a fully circular economy.

The cooperation leads to strong, unambiguous communication with consumers and business users about returning appliances, built-in and loose batteries and bicycle batteries separately. This is very important, especially now that more and more electrical appliances are becoming cordless and run on batteries.

The cooperation also leads to greater efficiency in fulfilling a responsibility for producers and importers. There are, after all, great similarities in the implementation processes for electrical and electronic appliances and batteries, such as the declaration about the quantity of products launched on the market, the collection of the waste management fee and the documentation to the government. Moreover, the collection network has a large overlap.

Steven van Eijck, Chairman of Stichting OPEN: “This is a perfectly logical step in view of the development of electrical appliances and the social and political ambition to move toward a circular economy from a raw material approach. In addition, it is more in line with the perception of the market. With a joint approach, we can increase our communication power and make the entire chain of collection, reusing and recycling even stronger.”

Eric Jan Schipper, Chairman of Stichting Batterijen: “The producers of portable batteries and accumulators see this development as a major step forward. This will give us more clout and allow us to organise the collection, reusing and recycling of all types of batteries, whether loose or built-in, more effectively and efficiently.”

Dick Zwaveling, Chairman of Stichting Stibat Services: “This cooperation offers great operational advantages for the collection and processing of all waste batteries and accumulators. This also offers the prospect of using all the knowledge and experience we have built up over the past decades in a broader scope.”

René Veenhuizen, Chairman of Stichting EPAC: “The cooperation is a good step towards the future and towards the efficient and complete reuse of raw materials. Especially now that consumers are increasingly using electric bikes, it is of the utmost importance to organise the future collection and reuse as efficiently as possible.”


About Stichting OPEN
Stichting Organisatie Producentenverantwoordelijkheid E-waste Nederland (OPEN) (The Organisation of Producer Responsibility for E-waste in the Netherlands) is responsible for the collection and recycling of e-waste on behalf of all (over 3,500) producers of electrical appliances in the Netherlands. Our goal is to reach the legal collection target of 65% and to make e-waste circular. We do this together with our collection, sorting and recycling partners. Under the name of Wecycle, we conduct campaigns to stimulate the collection and recycling of e-waste. Consumers and professionals can hand in their e-waste free of charge at one of our 13,000 Wecycle collection points throughout the country.

About Stichting Batterijen
Stichting Batterijen is a collective of over 1,400 affiliated producers and importers of portable and industrial batteries. Stichting Batterijen commissions Stichting Stibat Services to implement the legal producer responsibility. This means that Stichting Stibat Services takes care of the collection points, the collection of the batteries and accumulators, and the sorting and recycling of these batteries.

About Stichting EPAC
Stichting EPAC is a collective of over 120 producers and importers of bicycle batteries. Stichting EPAC commissions Stichting Stibat Services to collect and recycle bicycle batteries in a simple, safe and responsible manner. This means that Stichting Stibat Services, among other things, takes care of the collection points, the collection of the bicycle batteries, and the sorting and recycling of these batteries. Stichting EPAC is guided and monitored by an Advisory Board consisting of the RAI Vereniging and BOVAG.

About Stichting Stibat Services (Stibat)
As a non-profit organisation, Stichting Stibat Services is engaged in the collecting, sorting and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators. We relieve companies and institutions of their responsibilities by implementing their legal obligation and by offering services and solutions that contribute to a better environment. Stichting Stibat Services strives for maximum reuse of raw materials and ensures a safe processing of batteries and accumulators in accordance with national and European laws and regulations. For more information, go to: www.stibat.nl and www.legebatterijen.nl.