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It is a strategy developed to integrate the environmental costs associated with goods/products throughout their life cycle into their market value and establishes that the producer/importer of packaging, electrical and electronic equipment and/or batteries and accumulators is responsible, in whole or in part, physically or financially, for the environmental impacts and the generation of waste resulting from the production process and the subsequent use of the respective equipment, as well as for its management when it reaches the end of its life.

The producer/importer must not only promote changes in the design of the product to minimise its impact when it becomes waste, but also ensure its correct treatment. The producer/importer is responsible for organising and financing the recycling of packaging, electrical and electronic equipment and/or used batteries and accumulators resulting from the products he places on the market, and it follows from this obligation that the Producer/Importer must join an integrated system or set up an individual waste management system.

​​​​​​Batteries and accumulators are divided into two types and, within these, into various chemical systems.

• Type 1: Portable batteries and accumulators

Any battery, button cell, cell battery or accumulator that is hermetically sealed, can be carried by hand and is not an industrial battery or accumulator, nor a battery or accumulator for motor vehicles, namely batteries consisting of a single element. AA and AAA batteries, as well as batteries and accumulators used in mobile phones, laptops and notebooks, cordless power tools, toys and household appliances.

Portable batteries and accumulators chemical systems: Alkaline, Button, Lead-Acid, Lithium Ion, Lithium, NiCd, NiMH and Zinc-carbon.

• Type 2: Industrial batteries and accumulators

Batteries and accumulators designed exclusively for industrial or professional use that are placed directly on the market or incorporated into electrical and electronic equipment. Batteries or accumulators used as an emergency or back-up power source in hospitals, airports or offices, or designed exclusively for portable payment terminals in stores and restaurants and for barcode scanners in stores, those used in instrumentation or in other types of measuring apparatus, and those used in connection with renewable energy applications such as solar panels. 
Industrial batteries and accumulators chemical systems: Lead-Acid, Lithium Ion and NiCd

According to Decree-Law No. 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December, a Producer is any natural or legal person who, within the scope of his professional activity, places batteries or accumulators on the national market for the first time, including those incorporated into appliances or vehicles, regardless of the sales technique used, including remote sales.

It should be noted that the definition of Producer given by Decree-Law No. 6/2009 is not based on the etymological meaning of the word producer, which refers to the entity responsible for producing the equipment, but rather on the entity that places it on the national market for the first time.

As such, a company in Portugal that distributes batteries and accumulators purchased from a foreign supplier is considered a Producer under Decree-Law No. 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December, and only companies that exclusively resell batteries and accumulators purchased from domestic producers are excluded from this concept.

1. Join the Batteries and Accumulators Management System

If you are a producer of batteries and accumulators, you should transfer your responsibility for the management of batteries and accumulators to an entity that manages a collective system, such as Electrão, or alternatively you can set up an individual waste management system.

The collection of waste portable batteries and accumulators can be carried out in conjunction with the management systems for waste electrical and electronic equipment provided for in Decree-Law No. 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December.

2. Register with the National Registration Entity

In addition to transferring responsibility to a Management Entity, you must also register as a Producer with the National Registration Entity, currently APA – Portuguese Environment Association, by formalising your registration with SILiAmb (SILIAMB.APAMBIENTE.PT), in accordance with Decree-Law No. 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December.

3. Product Marking

Batteries and accumulators placed on the EU market must be labelled to indicate their separate collection as waste. This marking must be visible, legible and indelible and consists of a rubbish bin symbol barred with an X, in accordance with Decree-Law No. 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December.

To join the Electrão Management System and transfer your responsibility for the management of batteries and accumulators, all you have to do is access the Electrão website and complete the online registration process (register Here). The process involves filling in a form in which you will have to: identify the producer joining the system and identify the batteries and accumulators segments. After completing the process, a welcome e-mail will be sent with the credentials to access the Members Portal and all the necessary information.

The cost of joining Electrão’s Waste Batteries and Accumulators Management System is directly related to the type and quantity of batteries and accumulators placed on the market, according to an eco-fee defined annually for each segment. The table of eco-fees according to the applicable regime can be found here.

Between the 1^st of January and the 31^st of March of each year, you must send to APA (at SILiAmb, SILIAMB.APAMBIENTE.PT ) the annual statement of batteries and accumulators placed on the market during the previous year and the estimate for the current year.

Between the 1^st of January and the 15^th of March, you must report to Electrão the batteries and accumulators placed on the market during the previous year and the estimate for the current year.