Waste Aware Campus: Recycle

Batteries

When you recycle your batteries, the valuable resources in the batteries are recovered and used to make new batteries and other metal products.

There are few facilities in the UK that can deal with batteries safely, which is why only some local authorities currently provide battery recycling facilities. Other local authorities are aiming to provide this type of facility in the future. The planned EU directive on batteries will ensure that all batteries are collected and treated separately from other waste.

At the moment, some manufacturers accept used batteries back and send them to be recycled. Some retailers also accept used batteries of their own brand for recycling. You can return silver oxide (button cell) batteries to retailers or jewellers for recycling. You can also ask at your local Sainsbury's store for a freepost battery recycling envelope.

Facts about batteries

We use approximately 41 million batteries in Scotland each year and the vast majority of these are sent to landfill (SEPA, 2005).

The average Scottish household uses between 19 and 21 batteries every year (SEPA, 2005).

89% of batteries are for general use and can be found in every room in the house (WRAP).

By 2012, all EU countries must collect at least 25% of household batteries for recycling, and this will increase to at least 45% by 2016. You can read more about these laws on the Europa website.

Battery Recycling Journey
Follow the battery recycling journey to find out what happens to your batteries after they are collected for recycling.

You can currently recycle batteries in some local authority areas in Scotland. Find out if you can recycle batteries using your kerbside recycling service where you live.

Search for your nearest battery recycling point on Sort It.