Batteries
Environmental benefits: Batteries contain various hazardous materials - such as lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc, manganese and lithium - yet we are putting them in landfill sites. Recycling batteries is currently at least ten times more expensive than burying them in landfill sites.
However, a 2006 EU directive decrees that by 2012 the UK will have to collect a minimum of 7500 tonnes of portable batteries to be recycled so that it meets its targets.
Supported by funding from Defra through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste programme, WRAP were asked in 2006 to undertake work to develop options for a cost effective UK battery collection infrastructure. Householders in the trial areas received a dedicated container for their batteries to put out for collection along with their other recycling.
How to recycle: The UK’s record on recycling batteries is very poor, as there are limited reprocessing facilities for them in the UK. Find out from your local authority where battery recycling bins are provided and use them. Rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries are toxic and must be sent back to the manufacturer.
Useful links:
Battery facts & figures - WRAP
Q&A Battery Collection and Sorting - WRAP
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