European parliament voted last 20 April 2004 to ban Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries.
This ban will cover Ni-Cad batteries used in household appliances as well as in power tools.
It also adopted restrictions on the use of lead in non-lead batteries which can be fully replaced by environmentally preferable Alkali-Mangan batteries, and higher collection rates than those proposed by the European Commission.
