The Power of Recycling

It has been announced that 85% of Brits claim they would recycle batteries if they knew where to take them. Two major companies have therefore started initiatives to stop the worrying amount of used batteries going straight to landfill.
Supermarket giant, Sainsbury’s is leading the way in battery recycling by setting up an initiative to double the current household numbers in the UK. The supermarket announced that from the start of November, it hopes to divert 2,300 tonnes of batteries from landfill a year through a new freepost battery recycling scheme.
Following on from the publication of the Battery Directive last month, the service marks the latest environmental move by Sainsbury’s in the continuing “green wars” who hope to make a “significant difference to the UK’s estimated 4% household battery recycling rate by providing its freepost envelops in stores nationwide.
Apparently, of the 25,000 tonnes of batteries used in the UK each year, only 1,000 tonnes are recycled at the moment. Under this new Battery Directive, Britain will be required to recycle a quarter of all portable batteries used each year by 2012, which will make a significant difference to the problem of landfill.
Sainsbury’s recycling manager, James McKechie says, “Our customers are recycling more and more and we want to make it easier for them. Most people now use batteries so we know this will be something people will be able to use.”
However, Sainsbury’s do not seem to be the only one backing the new initiative to recycle batteries. A Liverpool hearing centre is piloting a recycling scheme in response to new European laws.
Over 50 million hearing aid batteries are disposed of each year but only 16% of these are recycled. The Liverpool branch of David Omerod Hearing Centres is introducing this free recycling scheme for hearing aid batteries, believed to be the first of its type in Britain.
This article originally appeared in Issue 18 of The Skip