What do I do with my old batteries from my home?

So you go to use the remote to change the TV channel and nothing happens. Changing the batteries within the remote will make it work again but what do you do with the old batteries? You should no longer put them into the bin but instead recycle them, let’s look at how.

One of the easiest places to recycle your old batteries is the place where you purchase your new ones. In the UK any shop that sells more than 32kg (around 350 packs) of batteries per annum must provide a collection facility. All major supermarkets and electrical retailers will have a container to place your batteries in. Some will make this container prominent within the store, others it’ll be hidden, if in doubt ask where it is. The retailers will be part of a compliance scheme that handles the recycling of the batteries at an authorised treatment facility.

Your local recycling facility will also provide some form of battery recycling. The place where you can drop off your old paper, cardboard and other recyclables can also now take batteries. They will most probably segregate car batteries to portable, smaller batteries for different treatment. Look for the right container for your old batteries and place them safely in. This will help protect the battery for transit and stop the elements from damaging the batteries and the local environment. We advise that you do not make a trip especially just for the batteries, but combine with a larger collection of mixed recyclables for the next time you’re passing by.

Some local authorities in the UK are now also providing a battery collection service to help further increase recycling rates. They provide a small battery bag that is filled, sealed and left with the usual recyclables left on the kerbside. Then an empty bag is left to fill the next time you need to. This is a really simple and effective way of ensuring your recycle your old batteries and save yourself a trip.

All of the available options will lead to the same recycling process for your batteries. An authorised treatment facility will recycle the battery contents in a safe manner. This will include all types of batteries including lead acid, lithium-ion, NiCad, button cell etc. The end result will be segregated chemicals and materials that will be reused within the manufacturing chain. This will lead to new products being made from the old materials. Using recycled materials as opposed to creating virgin materials uses less energy and produces fewer green house gas emissions.
The UK has a set target to increase its battery collection/recycling rate to 25% per year. This doesn’t sound much but will be hard to meet unless we change our way of thinking. Whilst recycling our old batteries we can also look at our battery usage. Where possible use rechargeable batteries and charge these by a solar powered recharge. Consider wind up appliances such as wind up torches or plug electrical items into the mains to save on our battery usage altogether.

Author Bio

Phil Gibbs is a Director of Pure Planet Recycling, a WEEE recycling company based in the UK.