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In the UK, only about three to five per cent of all household batteries are recycled. Most old batteries end up in landfill, where they can leak harmful chemicals into the soil. You can help tackle this problem by recycling your batteries anywhere you see the Be Positive sign.
Most supermarkets and shops that sell batteries will have collection bins for used batteries. Some town halls, libraries or schools may also set up collection points. Look out for the Be Positive signs in shop windows and in stores to find these collection points.
Several local councils already collect batteries in the doorstep recycling collection, or provide bins at the local waste and recycling centre. Check with your local council to find out what battery recycling choices are available in your area.
For more details about battery recycling, and the new laws, visit the website of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
If you want to report a shop for not having a battery recycling bin, you can contact the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), who police the scheme.
Many of the items you regularly use at home will be run on batteries. Batteries from all of the following items, and many others, can be recycled:
Some household batteries contain chemicals like lead, mercury or cadmium. If batteries are thrown into your normal rubbish bin, they are likely to end up in landfill. Once buried, the batteries start to break down, and can leak some of these chemicals into the ground. This can cause soil and water pollution, which may be a health risk for humans.
Recycling avoids this and can also help recover some of the raw materials used for making batteries. These can be used to make other products. So recycling can save some of the planet’s resources, by reducing the need to mine new materials.
Recycled batteries are first sorted into different types – for example lithium, alkaline, lead cell, mercury button – as each type is recycled differently.
Lead acid batteries (used for car batteries) and mercury button cell batteries (the flat, round, silver batteries found in watches) are fully recycled in the UK.
Lithium and alkaline batteries (AA, AAA and 9v batteries) are part-recycled in the UK, and then sent to plants abroad for the rest of the process.
Other types of battery are sent abroad, as the UK does not currently have plants that can recycle these.
Car batteries are treated as hazardous waste. They must not be thrown away with your household waste. They can be recycled at garages, scrap metal facilities and many local waste and recycling centres.
There is a helpful postcode finder you can use to check where you can recycle car batteries, and all other types of waste, on the RecycleNow website.
Many of the items that use portable batteries can also be recycled. You can recycle these, and other old electronic and electrical equipment like TVs, fridges and computers, at your local waste and recycling centre.
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