Batteries
Around 20,000 tonnes of general-purpose batteries are
discarded as waste in the UK every year. Unfortunately
less than 2% of consumer disposable batteries are recycled, the
rest are disposed of in landfill sites.
Most batteries contain heavy metals, a major
cause of environmental concern. If the battery is disposed of
incorrectly these heavy metals may leak into the ground when the
battery casing corrodes, causing soil and water pollution and
endangering wildlife and human health.
The
EU Batteries Directive aims to reduce the impact on the
environment of the manufacture, distribution, use, disposal and
recovery of batteries.
In November 2008 WRAP (Waste & Resources Action
Programme) ran a series of battery collection trials to identify
the most cost-effective ways of collecting portable (household)
waste batteries. Its
report looks at each collection trial in detail giving
information on the structure, operation and location of each one.
The report provides an insight into some of the factors critical to
establishing and running a successful battery collection
scheme.