Battery recycling rates up
October 1, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Battery recycling rates seem to have been given a boost as a result of new EU legislation, according to recent figures from the Environment Agency.
The agency revealed that there has been a 7% rise in battery recycling rates over the last three months. In total, 16.5% of portable batteries were recycled in the second quarter of 2010, compared to just 9.15% in the first quarter.
In terms of volume, that equates to nearly 1,500 tonnes of batteries being sent for recycling between April and June of this year, and 2,320 tonnes being sent for recycling over the first half of the year.
It is likely that this sudden rise is linked to the new EU rules surrounding the recycling of batteries that came into force back in February 2010. The new laws made it a legal obligation for shops selling over 32kg of batteries a year to provide free battery collection points for batteries to be sent for recycling.
It is all good news for the government which has specific targets it has to reach over the course of the next few years. The target for this year is 10%, and it looks like this will be met as recycling rates are predicted to rise in the lead-up to Christmas. Indeed, the recycling rate for the first half of the year stands at 12.58%.
The next target is an 18% recycling rate for 2011, followed by the first legally binding rate of 25% the following year. Following that, a target of 45% has to be hit by 2016, so the government will hope that the rate continues to rise over the next few years.
Proper battery recycling should be observed so that there’ll be no problem with the leakage of the hazardous chemicals to our water reservior.