The Australian Battery Recycling Initiative has called on the Federal Government to implement industry recommendations for a national battery stewardship program.
On July 28, state government environment ministers will consider recommendations from the Industry Working Group to establish a national recycling program for rechargeable batteries under 5 kgs.
In a statement, the ABRI wrote that without government support of these recommendations, industry will pull out of the process and action will be delayed many years, resulting in environmental and community health impacts and leading to greater cost to government.
“ABRI fully supports the Industry Working Group recommendations and encourages others in industry to ensure government understand the need for responsible battery stewardship by contacting the Environment Ministers directly,” they said.
“We have also called on the government to expand the scope of the recommended scheme to include a phased approach to cover all batteries.”
If not managed correctly, batteries end up in landfill, leading to increased incidences of landfill fires.
ABRI has been formed by a group of battery manufacturers, distributors, collectors, recyclers, government bodies and environment groups to promote the collection, recycling and safe disposal of all batteries. ABRI supports the principle of product stewardship: that responsibility for environmental management of products, including their recovery at end of life, is shared by organisations at every stage of the product life cycle