National battery recycling charges ahead

In the lead-up to World Environment Day, SITA Environmental Solutions is charging up battery recycling in Australia with the national launch of its Battery Recycling program.

After a successful trial in Canberra, SITA is extending its Battery Recycling program Australia wide.

Australian businesses and households dispose of some 94% of single-use and rechargeable batteries through their usual waste collection services, with over 8000 tonnes of dead batteries ending up in Australian landfills each year.

“Both single-use and rechargeable batteries, which are found in many day-to-day items, contain heavy metals, including cadmium, mercury and lead, which may be harmful to people and the environment. If not disposed of responsibly they will end up in landfill,” said Mike Ritchie, General Manager, Marketing & Communications.

“By recovering precious metals such as silver, iron and mercury from used batteries, we are protecting the environment and recovering limited resources.”

Rechargeable batteries are a great cost-effective solution to single-use batteries as they can be used up to 1000 times. The nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion in rechargeable batteries can all be recycled, making them a sound environmental alternative.

An added bonus of this program is that the box the batteries are collected in will also be recycled. SITA is an associate member of the Australasian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI).

The Battery Recycling program is available across Australia.