Ask Ashley
All Charged Up
October 15, 2007
Q:
Dear Ashley,
I’ve seen that people can recycle rechargeable batteries around Calgary but I’m wondering why disposable batteries aren’t being accepted. Are they not toxic as well? Is there another program in Calgary that allows for disposable batteries to be recycled?
Best Regards,
Leon
A:
Hello Leon,
With the rapid rise of portable electronics, the number of consumer batteries discarded is dramatically increasing. Environment Canada’s Canadian Consumer Baseline Study estimates that 450 million (15,182 tonnes) consumer batteries were sold in Canada in 1994, with the number expected to climb to 659 million by 2010. The sheer number of batteries entering the waste stream has driven some governments to regulate the industry and implement programs to reduce the hazards to human health resulting from improper disposal.
Europe’s Council Directive on Batteries led the charge on the proper recovery, treatment and disposal of batteries in 1991, but it was the U.S.’s Battery Act in 1996 that changed the way North American’s dealt with batteries. The US Battery Act called for the phase out of mercury-based household batteries - the AA's, AAA's, C's, D's, and 9-volts that people use in flashlights, remote controls and fire alarms - and set up the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), which was tasked with managing a collection and recycling program for rechargeable batteries. The mercury phase out has made single-use batteries safe enough to put in the regular trash and the RBRC program targeted rechargeable batteries as most contain cadmium or lead, both of which are highly toxic. To date, Canada has not initiated legislative or producer responsibility programs targeting batteries, however, the US Battery Act has driven developments in a number of Canadian provinces.
The RBRC program, named Call2Recycle, is one example of this spillover and it is, to date, Canada’s only national battery recycling program. The program accepts Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead (Pb) rechargeable batteries at a large number of Canadian retailers, including some 80 locations in Calgary. Although widely available, Canadians recycled less than 2% of rechargeable batteries in 2004. This is problematic because, unlike the mercury-free single-use batteries, rechargeable batteries are laden with dangerous heavy metals. Canada-wide, 766 tonnes of Lead, 235 tonnes of Cadmium and 386 tonnes of nickel were discharged from batteries in 2004. It is obvious that more effort and prudence is needed to ensure that rechargeable batteries are being recycled so as to protect our soil and water quality, while also stemming the loss of valuable metals.
This loss of valuable non-renewable metals has driven some governments to institute recycling programs for single-use batteries. One program that has achieved tremendous results is the Re-Store Your Batteries program, initiated by Prince Edward Island’s Island Waste Management Corporation (IWMC). The program which was set up on July 1st, 2005 was a partnership between IWMC and local grocery stores to give residents a convenient no cost recycling option. To date the program has recycled roughly 24,000 kgs of single-use batteries collected from residents. In Calgary, though, the picture isn’t quite so rosy. In fact, the City’s 3-1-1 information line and its website recommend that single-use batteries be disposed of with the regular household garbage. But Calgarians need not despair; both Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) and Ikea have set up take back programs so that customers have the option of bringing their single-use batteries back to the stores for recycling. Now that’s service!
So it seems that Calgarians do have several recycling options for recycling batteries but in the absence of a well established municipal recycling program for single-use batteries, I (and the City of Calgary) would encourage residents to use rechargeable batteries. Not only are rechargeables widely recyclable, they’ll also save you a lot of money. With a good set (4) of rechargeable batteries enduring nearly 1000 charges they’ll set you back less than $50. To get 4000 cycles from single-use batteries you’d have to dish over $4000. Using a dozen batteries or so every year would make a set of rechargeables well worth the investment.
Finally, Canadians have proven themselves to be great hoarders of recyclables, with 60% of Canadians claiming to hold onto spent batteries for five or more years. With this it should be mentioned that there is one caveat regarding tossing old single-use batteries in the trash. Those that were manufactured prior to 1996, when the mercury phase-out began, should be handled with care as they will, in all likelihood, contain mercury. These batteries should definitely be recycled.
So with less than 2% of all batteries being recycled it should behoove us to make sure batteries, especially rechargeable batteries, are being recycled. Not only will we be saving thousands of tonnes of valuable metals from going to waste, we will also be saving our water and soil from becoming contaminated.
Fully charged,
Ashley
Ashley Lubyk, BSc. in Environmental Science, formerly a Calgary Materials Exchange Program Assistant at Clean Calgary Association. Please send your question concerning Water, Waste, or Recycling to Ashley.