Waste Recycling Plant

It is easy to think that one little battery will not make much difference to our environment, but if you imagine 30 million homes throwing away 3 batteries a year, then you have just added 90 million extra items into our landfills, which collectively makes a large amount of unnecessary rubbish.

The two most common types of batteries that are disposed of in the UK each year are general purpose ones, batteries that can be used in toys, remote controls etc and batteries from vehicles, otherwise known as automotive batteries. The percentage of batteries that are ever recycled can be as low as 2% and although the exact figure is not known for sure, many websites report that only 2 – 5% of batteries are recycled in the UK, which is something that has to change.

Some of the councils in the UK now offer kerbside collection of batteries, but if you go to any recycling centre you should find an area where you can recycle batteries, both general purpose ones and automotive ones. Rechargeable batteries can also be recycled, so there really is no excuse as to why the old and worn out battery should be thrown into your general rubbish bin as it can and should be recycled.

Because batteries contain a wide range of different elements and metals, you can reuse many aspects of a battery when it comes to recycling one. There are now dedicated battery recycling plants in the UK which just deal with the recycling of batteries, proving how much of a demand there now is for recycling everything we possibly can.

So, next time your clock runs out of life or your remote control needs a new battery, instead of throwing the old one into the bin, think about recycling it, as if everyone recycles their batteries we can all work together for a much better environment.

Andrew Bartle is the Managing Director of Acorn Office Accessories LTD.

Acorn Offices only sells products which are manufactured from sustainably sourced materials, which also contain a high percentage of recycled paper fibres.