The cost of complying with new EU legislation could run into millions of pounds in the UK, where the number of batteries recycled is currently less than 1 per cent.

The new rules impose targets for collecting defunct batteries ranging from AA batteries to those used in mobile phones and laptop computers. By 2012, a quarter of all batteries sold must be collected once they run out. By 2016, the target will rise to 45 per cent.

Under the proposals agreed late last night, customers will return spent batteries to shops who will then send them back to the manufacturers, who will be responsible for footing the bill for the recycling.

Latest figures show that of around 25,000 tonnes of batteries bought in Britain each year, only 200 tonnes - or 0.8 per cent - are recycled. The rest are incinerated or buried in landfill sites where they can leak a highly-polluting cocktail of zinc, cadmium, mercury and lead into water courses.

Britain is among 22 member states who face a tough challenge in meeting the new guidelines. So far, of the six countries to have set up recycling schemes, only Belgium, Sweden and Austria have met the 45 per cent level.

After three years of argument, representatives from the European Union, European Parliament and 25 EU member states have agreed to set aside £140 million ($250 million) to pay for the first stage of the programme.

Stavros Dimas, the EU Environment Commissioner, said: "The EU gives high priority to making sure that batteries and accumulators no longer cause health and environmental problems due to the heavy metals they contain. The faster we start to collect and recycle batteries, the better for the environment."

The average European household uses 21 batteries a year, according to EU figures. In 2002, that added up to more than 158,000 tons of batteries, of which 28 percent were rechargeable. For industrial use, Europe went through 190,000 metric tons of lead acid batteries.

The Department of Trade and Industry has accepted that the UK's record is poor but had resisted the measures when they were first discussed. It attributed Britain's low level of recycling to the comparatively cheap cost of using landfill. The UK's first dedicated recycling plant opened in the West Midlands in March last year.

A series of pilot projects have been held in various cities over the past few years in an attempt to address concerns. A kerbside collection scheme in Bristol led to the recovery of 12 tonnes of batteries which would otherwise have been binned in 2002, but the project exposed unexpectedly high associated costs.

Cheshire, Lancashire and Barnet are among a handful of councils which offer recycling facilities but elsewhere the measures have not been treated as a priority. A new wave of trials is planned in anticipation of the directve, with kerbside collections covering 350,000 households and new drop-off points at supermarkets.

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