Recycling at Festivals

There are several cities and towns across the world that organize battery recycling events and festivals on a regular basis, so that people of that town and the surrounding areas can come to the event and drop off their dead batteries at the collection counters setup at these events. Once all the dead batteries in the area are collected, they are then sent for recycling in an environment friendly way.

More information on battery recycling

What is the need for recycling of batteries?

Batteries need to be recycled because they contain various heavy metals like lead, mercury, lithium, nickel, zinc, cobalt, and cadmium. If the batteries are disposed like other waste, these hazardous materials could spread in the soil, the underground water streams and make the environment toxic and dangerous for the health and well being of human life.

What are the various types of batteries that can be recycled?

Batteries that can be dropped at these battery recycling events include all primary batteries that are meant for one time use. These include the AA batteries, AAA batteries, C cell batteries, D cell batteries, Button Cell batteries, 6-volts and 9-volts batteries as well. It will be pertinent to note though that rechargeable batteries are not accepted at these events and festivals for recycling.

What is the safest way to drop off dead batteries at these events?

To ensure that dead batteries are dropped at these battery recycling events safely, owners of dead batteries are advised to cover the terminals of these batteries with a masking tape before they bring their dead batteries for drop off at the collection counters.

What are the benefits of recycling dead batteries?

The best thing about recycling these batteries is that almost all the elements used in these batteries can be recycled, reclaimed and reused in new batteries. Apart from Lead used in these batteries, which is 100% recyclable, the Sulfuric Acid used in these batteries can also be recycled completely and used in a number of ways. Similarly, the plastic components used in these batteries are also recyclable and can be used in making new products in the future.

What is the procedure for recycling old batteries in UK?

If you wish to dispose of your used batteries in UK, you can do so by dropping them at the collection containers found at several retail outlets and other public buildings located across UK. However, before dropping the dead batteries, it will be advisable to sort these batteries based on their chemical composition. This is primarily because different types of batteries are made up of different chemical compositions. Such as batteries used in Laptops are made up of lithium-ion, while AA batteries are made up of zinc, and batteries used in power tools are made up of nickel cadmium. Sorting these batteries based on their composition ensures that all original material can be completely recycled to make new products.

If you want to play your part in preserving the environment and earth, then heading to one of the battery recycling events to dispose-off your dead batteries will be the right thing to do.