Germany | New battery law flops: Not even the low collection volume of 50 percent is reached

Berlin, June 23, 2022:In Germany, the embarrassingly low collection rate of just 50 percent for portable batteries is not reached. This is proven by current figures from the German Environmental Aid (DUH) based on information from the battery collection systems. According to this, only around 48 percent of device batteries were properly recorded in 2021. In 2019 it was still 52 percent. The amount of lithium-ion batteries collected is even lower at around 32 percent, assuming a service life of five to seven years. According to the environmental and consumer protection association, the goal declared by the Federal Ministry for the Environment - with the new battery law that has been in force since January 1, 2021 - of increasing the collection quantities of batteries and strengthening recycling has failed miserably. The DUH is therefore calling on Environment Minister Steffi Lemke to