Battery Collections

CtL have been engaged by Sustainability Victoria to conduct the Batteryback Stage II pilot program which will build on the previous Batteryback pilot program for the next 12 months. Using a small but diverse range of retail based collection points aimed at collecting and processing used domestic batteries to recover the imbedded resources.

Approximately 10,000 tons of batteries are imported into Australia annually with less than 1% successfully collected and recycled. The rest are disposed of in landfills or discarded into the environment. Similar schemes adopted throughout the world suggest a 15 – 45% recovery rate is possible with the correct model. The key learning’s from this program will be used to engage and mobilise stakeholders with a vested interest in the problem of household batteries in the waste stream.

The primary outcome is to demonstrate and evidence the feasibility and cost efficiency of diverting household batteries from the waste stream through battery collection and resource recovery to waste management companies, reprocessors, distributers, retailers and members of the industry group Australian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI). This pilot will deliver on a current product stewardship commitment documented in the Toward Zero Waste Strategy to remove used household batteries from Victorian landfills.

The collection points for this extended trial are in Victoria only, go to http://www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au/for_households_3797.html to view a list of the current drop off locations. This program is funded by the Victorian Government, and therefore not available nationally. To research programs in your state, or to suggest they are needed, please go to the Australian Battery Recycling Initiative website at http://batteryrecycling.org.au/?page_id=309