Battery recycling ‘victory’ in North America

Canada/USA – To date in 2015, some 2600 tonnes of batteries have been collected for recycling in the USA and Canada via the network of consumer battery stewardship organisation Call2Recycle. This year-on-year increase of 6% represents a ‘significant environmental victory’ and means battery collections ‘are on target to grow for the 19th consecutive year’, it states.

With approximately 90% of both US and Canadian residents living within 15 kilometres of one of Call2Recycle’s 34 000-plus public drop-off locations, battery recycling has become ‘increasingly simple and convenient’, the organisation claims.

The Call2Recycle battery collection network includes retailers and municipalities across both the USA and Canada. Western US states, the Northern Plains and the Great Lakes regions saw growth of 11% while the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario witnessed collection increases of, respectively, 19% and 7%.

Since its programme was launched in 2010, British Columbia has collected and recycled more than 4.5 million pounds (2000 tonnes) of batteries. In 2014, Call2Recycle reached the milestone of collecting 100 million pounds (45 000 tonnes) in total via its network in the USA and Canada since launching in 1996.