The national legislation of Bulgaria requires for the entities that release industrial batteries and accumulators to ensure the collection of the amount of industrial batteries and accumulators that are non-usable, which meets a collection factor of not less than 25/100 of the quantity of industrial batteries and accumulators placed on the market.
In the new Regulation – EU 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12.07.2023, the idea of a transition to a circular economy of EU and of improving the rate of collection and recycling of batteries is basically the major idea. However, at the moment, there are not enough industrial battery waste on the market, which hinders the fulfillment of the legal requirements regarding the processing of industrial battery waste.
А question arises whether the national legislations of other member states allow for achieving the objectives by signing a contract for the management of waste from photovoltaic panels and/or industrial panels with a company located in another member state, as well as vice versa – with a company located in Bulgaria.
Since our national legislation does not provide an answer to this question, after examining the legislation of several European countries, the following provisions are found:
In Germany
According to their legislation, it is not applicable to sign a contract for the management of waste from photovoltaic panels with a company located in another member state, nor vice versa.
The quotas for take-back, as provided in their law, are determined solely based on the quantity of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market in Germany. The possibility of sending WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) collected in Germany to other countries (including EU member states) is regulated by provisions regarding transport, and whether the exported waste can then be included in the collection quotas of the respective other countries depends on their national legislation.
In Hungary
In Hungary, a specific body is responsible for the processing of battery waste according to government regulations. Therefore, in such cases, manufacturers cannot enter into contracts with other entities for the management of battery waste in Hungary or abroad (and there is no demand for such contracts in the industry).
In the case of individual compliance, the manufacturer is not responsible for waste management but must ensure that the waste is processed for recycling or disposal once it reaches the so-called pre-treatment stage.
