From January 15, Teignbridge Council will be collecting batteries as part of its kerbside recycling service. The average household uses 21 batteries a year, which means that in Teignbridge alone 1.1 million batteries could end up in our landfill site. Household batteries that are sent to landfill can contribute to water and soil pollution and can endanger wildlife. In an attempt to reduce the amount of battery waste in the district, householders are being asked to recycle their used or unwanted batteries by putting them in a plastic bag and placing them along side their glass and cloudy plastic bottles in their green recycling box. Once collected, the batteries will be taken to a recycling centre where they will be reprocessed to produce other products, or even new batteries. Most types of batteries can be collected including all AAA and AA cells, sizes C and D, button batteries (for example watch batteries), mobile phone and laptop batteries. However, car and lead acid batteries cannot be accepted for recycling through this scheme. These can be taken to household waste recycling centres, such as the Brunel Road Industrial Estate facility for recycling. Cllr Gordon Hook, Teignbridge executive spokesman for the environment and environmental health, said: 'With continued support from our customers, we hope that in the first year of the scheme more than 10 tonnes of batteries will be collected for recycling and kept out of landfill. This will be a significant contribution to creating a healthier environment, which is a key priority for Teignbridge Council. 'This additional recycling opportunity follows last week's exciting announcement that Teignbridge is the top district for recycling in the south west. With the introduction of battery collections we hop to help the environment and scale the national top-ten recyclers list.' As well as recycling, there are other ways to reduce the amount of battery waste created. Rechargable batteries are a good alternative, and they save energy. The amount of energy needed to manufacture a battery is on average 50 times greater than the energy it gives out. Look out for appliances that are operated by solar pop or by a wind up mechanism instead, for example radios, torches and mobile phone chargers. For further information about household battery recycling call the recycling helpline on 0800 7310323.
