What does recycling efficiency mean?
Recycling efficiency is a process-yield metric. It does not by itself prove recycled content in a new product; it shows how much material a recycling process recovers from its inputs under a defined calculation method.
Source context
This page is anchored in Article 3, point 60, of the EU Battery Regulation. Recycling efficiency should be read beside recycling and preparation for recycling: preparation happens before the process, recycling describes material recovery, and recycling efficiency measures the ratio of counted outputs to waste-battery inputs.
Official definitions by source
EU Battery Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries
the ratio, expressed as a percentage, obtained by dividing the mass of output fractions accounting for recycling by the mass of the waste batteries’ input fraction, in relation to a recycling process;
Reference: Article 3, point 60
View official source
Definition status
Reviewed public draft page. Aligns with EPR/recycling responsibility policy: separates producer obligations, scheme evidence, recycling actor roles, repurposing transitions, waste-management quality, and process-yield proof.
Practical application
Implementation records should capture process identifier, input mass, recycled output mass, calculation period, battery chemistry/category, facility identifier, calculation method, excluded fractions, verification record, and reporting obligation.
Minespider commentary
Recycling efficiency is the process-yield control for battery circularity evidence. It should connect input batches, output materials, calculation periods, methods, and facility evidence so recycling performance can be checked rather than inferred from a recycler name.
Common confusions
- Confusing recycling efficiency with recycled content in a new battery or product.
- Calculating a percentage without input/output mass, method, chemistry/category, and period boundaries.
- Treating facility-level recycling efficiency as proof for a specific product batch without traceable material links.
Related regulations
Related terms