Battery regulations could catch plant fleets

New regulations mostly aimed at increasing the recycling of dry-cell batteries could impact workshops and plant fleets if they import replacement batteries.

Under the new regulations, a company that puts any battery (including lead-acid) on the market for the first time - be that a plant manufacturer in a machine, a battery distributor, or an individual company importing batteries from outside the UK - will have to register before 15 October. They will then have to record the weight of batteries they sell or use and have to take back used batteries in the same category.

Most lead-acid batteries used to start plant will be classed as "automotive", but some may be classed as "industrial". Although the major effect is on battery specialists, plant manufacturers and distributors, a plant hirer running electrically-powered access equipment that imports replacement batteries from abroad would also have to register.