Glossary term

recycling efficiency

An EU Battery Regulation performance metric comparing counted recycling output fractions with the input fraction of waste batteries.

1 official sourceSingle-source term

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

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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.