Better engagement with stakeholders is boosting battery recycling in North America, according to a consumer battery stewardship organisation.
More than 2.6 million kilos of batteries have been diverted from US and Canadian landfills and recycled so far this year – the weight of around 433 full-grown elephants.
Call2Recycle, a leading North American consumer battery stewardship organisation, says this indicates end-of-life battery collections are on target to grow for the 19th consecutive year thanks to consumer, retailer and municipal engagement.
Call2Recycle has over 34,000 public drop-off locations across North America, with about 90 per cent of US and Canadian residents living within 15 kilometres of one of the sites. Along with other collection points, this has made battery recycling increasingly simple and convenient. Battery collections through Call2Recycle’s consumer-facing network, including retailers and councils, have increased by 6 per cent so far in 2015.
The organisation says educating consumers and developing committed partners has been pivotal to continuing to drive collection growth. Call2Recycle also attributes the ongoing increase of diverting batteries from landfill to “dedicated efforts” from local councils, retailers and battery and product manufacturers across the North America.
“Partners make continued robust growth possible in collecting batteries for recycling,” said Carl Smith, CEO & president of Call2Recycle. “Not only do they contribute to convenient drop-off locations across the US and Canada, they also help fuel the message to consumers on the importance of battery recycling to keep batteries out of landfills.”