“This is a huge step forward for recycling. I think nearly all homes have a store of good-for-nothing batteries buried somewhere. Come the end of September they can go to a new home, safely,” said Mr Nix, a native of the Ennis Road.

“All retailers are covered by the new scheme, from large electrical stores to corner shops, once batteries are sold. While a shop may decline to accept a type of battery not sold on its premises, in practice this simply means going to one of the larger stores if you have a hoard of old batteries that are large and varied. Batteries have high levels of toxic substances such as mercury and lead which means they require specialised recycling,” he explained.

Re-chargeable batteries that come to the end of their lives are also covered by the new scheme, as are batteries incorporated into electrical and electronic equipment.

The Batteries Directive will now prohibit excess levels of mercury, lead and cadmium from batteries placed on the market from September 26 next. Customers are also being asked to plan their battery usage requirements and use accumulators or rechargeable batteries instead.

“I’d ask outlets selling batteries to take the necessary steps over the coming weeks to make sure they are in a position to accept waste batteries towards the end of September.” Mr Nix concluded.

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