http://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/493/article/2Commission Regulation (EU) No 493/2012 of 11 June 2012 laying down, pursuant to Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, detailed rules regarding the calculation of recycling efficiencies of the recycling processes of waste batteries and accumulators (Text with EEA relevance)Commission Regulation (EU) No 493/2012Commission Regulation (EU) No 493/2012 of 11 June 2012 laying down, pursuant to Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, detailed rules regarding the calculation of recycling efficiencies of the recycling processes of waste batteries and accumulators (Text with EEA relevance)King's Printer of Acts of Parliamenthttps://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/eu-exit/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32012R0493texttext/xmlen2025-04-23Expert Participation2025-02-27 DefinitionsArticle 21For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:‘recycling process’ means any reprocessing operation as referred to in Article 3(8) of Directive 2006/66/EC which is carried out on waste lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and other batteries and accumulators and results in the production of output fractions as defined in point 5 of this Article. The recycling process does not include sorting and/or preparation for recycling/disposal and may be carried out in a single facility or in several facilities;‘preparation for recycling’ means treatment of waste batteries and/or accumulators prior to any recycling process, which shall, inter alia, include storage, handling, dismantling of battery packs or separation of fractions that are not part of the battery or accumulator itself;‘recycling efficiency’ of a recycling process means the ratio obtained by dividing the mass of output fractions accounting for recycling by the mass of the waste batteries and accumulators input fraction expressed as a percentage;‘input fraction’ means the mass of collected waste batteries and accumulators entering the recycling process as defined in Annex I;“waste battery or accumulator” means any battery or accumulator which is waste within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Waste Framework Directive, as read with Articles 5 and 6 of that Directive;“disposal” means any of the applicable operations provided for in Annex 1 to the Waste Framework Directive;“Directive 2006/66/EC” means Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, as last amended by Directive (EU) 2018/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council;‘output fraction’ means the mass of materials that are produced from the input fraction as a result of the recycling process, as defined in Annex I without undergoing further treatment, that have ceased to be waste or that will be used for their original purpose or for other purposes, but excluding energy recovery.2.In paragraph 1, “the Waste Framework Directive” means Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste, as last amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851, read in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4.3. Article 5 is to be read as if—ain paragraph 1, “Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that” were omitted;bafter paragraph 1 there were inserted—1AAny decision as to whether a substance or object is a by-product must be made—ain accordance with any regulations setting out detailed criteria on the application of the conditions in paragraph 1 to specific substances or objects; andbhaving regard to any guidance published by the appropriate authority or the competent authority for the purposes of this Article.;cparagraphs 2 and 3 were omitted. 4.Article 6 is to be read as if—ain paragraph 1, “Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that” were omitted;bafter paragraph 1 there were inserted—1AAny decision as to whether a substance or object has ceased to be waste must be made—ain accordance with any regulations or assimilated direct legislation setting out detailed criteria on the application of the conditions in paragraph 1 to specific types of waste; andbhaving regard to any guidance published by the appropriate authority or the competent authority for the purposes of this Article.;cin paragraph 2—ithe first subparagraph were omitted;iiin the second subparagraph, for “Those detailed criteria” there were substituted “Any detailed criteria set out in guidance as referred to in paragraph 1A”;iiithe third and fourth subparagraphs were omitted;dparagraph 3 were omitted;ein paragraph 4—iin the first subparagraph—aain the first sentence, for the words from the beginning to “Member State”, there were substituted “Where criteria have not been set out as referred to in paragraph 1A(a), the competent authority”;bbthe second sentence were omitted;iiin the second subparagraph—aafor “Member States” there were substituted “The competent authority”;bb“by competent authorities” were omitted.5.In this Article—“appropriate agency” means—ain relation to England, the Environment Agency;bin relation to Wales, the Natural Resources Body for Wales;cin relation to Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;“appropriate authority” means—ain relation to England, the Secretary of State;bin relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;cin relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers.Art. 2 renumbered as Art. 2(1) (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/620), regs. 1(2)(b), 10(2)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)Art. 2(2)-(5) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/620), regs. 1(2)(b), 10(2)(c) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, reg. 14(6)(b)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)Arts. 2(1)(4A)-(4C) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/620), regs. 1(2)(b), 10(2)(b) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, reg. 14(6)(a)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)Words in Art. 2(4)(b) substituted (27.2.2025) by The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/82), reg. 1(2), Sch. 15 para. 97