Frequently Asked Questions

We are a compliance partner for businesses that handle batteries and battery-powered products. We work out which duties apply to you, arrange bins and collections through a vetted carrier partner, and make sure every movement is documented so you hold the evidence afterwards. The full journey is on the how it works page.

No, and we say so plainly. CellComply is registered with the Environment Agency as an upper tier waste broker and dealer (CBDU640370). We arrange and document each collection, while the physical uplift always runs through an ADR-compliant carrier partner that has passed our 12-point vetting standard. That split is how the law allocates responsibility, and it is why you get proper paperwork with every movement.

Any UK business that imports, sells, stores or disposes of batteries or battery-powered products. Most of our work is with vape retailers, e-bike and e-scooter businesses, data centres, retailers and warehouses and logistics operators.

We reply to enquiries within one working day and start with a free 15-minute call to understand your operation. If you go ahead, bins and documentation are typically in place within two weeks of sign-up. Book a call to get the ball rolling.

In under a minute. Search for CBDU640370 on the Environment Agency public register, or look up CellComply Ltd (company number 17234638) on Companies House. Both certificates, the register links and our insurance details are published on the licences and accreditations page.

Every hazardous waste movement travels with a hazardous waste consignment note, and you receive your copy for each collection. You also get weight data for your records and recycling evidence from the treatment facility. Consignment notes must be kept for three years, and we help you keep that file complete.

It is delivered to an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF), where batteries are separated, shredded and sorted into recoverable materials such as steel, aluminium, copper and the black mass that holds lithium, cobalt and nickel. Evidence of treatment flows back down the chain to your records.

Yes. Multi-site retailers and operators get one account, one point of contact and consolidated reporting, with collections scheduled per site and a consignment note issued for each movement. It is one of the most common reasons businesses come to us.

Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) replaces paper waste records with mandatory digital ones. Receiving sites must comply from October 2026, with carriers and brokers following from October 2027. The records we set up for clients now are structured so the transition is straightforward. There is a full explainer on our Digital Waste Tracking page.

Yes. Retailers selling vapes must offer in-store takeback of waste vapes on a like-for-like basis under the WEEE regulations, and since April 2024 vapes have been excluded from the Distributor Takeback Scheme, so paying into the scheme no longer covers them. Our vape retailer page covers the obligations in detail.

Disposable vapes, pod and refillable devices, pods and cartridges including expired shelf stock, and vape batteries, loose or still in the device. You do not need to dismantle anything: batteries are separated at the treatment facility during recycling. The full accepted list is on the vape bin page.

Most stores run both: a 20L vape recycling tube front of house for customer returns, with a narrow anti-dumping lid and anti-tip base, and a 30L UN-approved clip-top bin in the back for storage and collection. Both come as part of the one-off setup, sized to your volumes on the setup call.

Two numbers, both quoted for your store or estate on the setup call: a one-off setup fee covering the bins, the required signage, a logbook and staff training, then a flat all-in price per collection, charged only when a bin is full, with the carrier, consignment note and record-keeping all included. No monthly fees and nothing priced per kilo. Shops that want the ongoing admin run for them can add optional Compliance Cover: Essentials is £29 per store per month (or £299 per site per year) and Licence-Ready is £49 (£499 per year), with banded chain rates. The vape bins & takeback setup page has the full detail, and the vape compliance for retail chains page covers the estate rollout.

Every store gets the same per-store setup with training for the area manager, stores in the same area are routed together on one collection run, and the whole estate runs on one account with one invoice. If you add optional Compliance Cover, per-store rates are banded down as the estate grows: the first store pays the plan rate, then £25, £15 and £10 per store per month, capped at £299 a month on Essentials and £349 on Licence-Ready. Full detail on the vape compliance for retail chains page.

One flat all-in price per collection, fixed for your account on the setup call and charged only when a bin is full. It covers the licensed ADR carrier, the hazardous waste consignment note handed over on the day, and the records filing. Nothing is ever charged per kilo and nothing is billed monthly, so quiet months cost nothing and busy months simply have more collections.

From 12 August 2026, vape producers must finance the real costs of collecting and treating waste vapes through their compliance schemes (SI 2025/910). Treatment is already free at the point of handover and collection prices are compressing as that funding arrives. If you are on a legacy per-visit contract, the overpayment checker shows how your current cost compares with today’s market rates.

The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 (as amended) set out producer responsibility duties for anyone placing batteries on the UK market. Around them sit ADR rules for transport, WEEE obligations for battery-powered equipment, hazardous waste controls for disposal and the incoming Digital Waste Tracking system. Our UK battery regulations guide maps how they fit together.

If your business places more than one tonne of portable batteries on the UK market per year, you must register with a Battery Compliance Scheme by 15 October each year. Below that threshold, lighter reporting duties can still apply. A compliance review and setup documents which duties are likely to apply to you.

Waste lithium batteries are generally classified as hazardous, which means they cannot go in general waste, must move with hazardous waste consignment notes, and need a carrier authorised for hazardous loads. Whole waste vapes are treated the same way because of the lithium cell inside.

If your team handles lithium batteries as dangerous goods, ADR Chapter 1.3 awareness training has been mandatory since July 2025, even for limited quantities. We arrange partner-delivered battery safety training through qualified DGSA consultants.