According to the Annual Report published by the National Coordination Center for Batteries and Accumulators (Centro di Coordinamento Nazionale Pile e Accumulatori-CDCNPA), the collection of exhausted batteries and accumulators in Italy continues to grow in 2017: in one year almost 200,000 tons were collected. As for portable batteries and accumulators, in 2017 the collection was 9,488,413 kg, substantially unchanged from the previous year (9,495,012 kg). The total collection originates from two flows: 4,664,926 kg are the result of the collection carried out by the Collective Systems and Individual Systems (members of CDCNPA) at the subjects registered on the CDCNPA portal, while 4,823,487 kg derive from the professional collection services performed by the Consortium members at other subjects that hold the waste (voluntary collection). Besides, the number of collection points increases: at the end of 2017, they were 6717, mainly within stores that sell new batteries and accumulators. But there are also collection centers and ecological islands managed by municipalities and companies that deal with urban waste. The increase in the collection sites in 2017 was diversified on a territorial basis, with a more significant growth in the Southern Italy (+50%) and in the Central Italy (+33%) compared to 2016 and compared to the growth in the Northern regions (+18%). However, the latter remains the most equipped area with 1339 structures in Lombardy. Veneto (728) and Piedmont (576) follow. In the other areas the most equipped regions are Lazio with 533 collection sites and Puglia with 344.
