Have you ever disposed of batteries in regular recycling or household bins? It might seem like an easy solution, but it can actually harm both people and the planet. Binned batteries can cause fires and end up in landfill where they release toxic materials into waterways and ecosystems.
Thankfully, the B-cycle team (part of the Battery Stewardship Council of Australia) has taken steps to ensure that you can dispose of household batteries safely and recycle them at the same time. B-cycle is a free recycling service that offers over 3,200 battery recycling drop-off points around Australia.
Simply visit the B-cycle website to locate a nearby drop-off point. You can even specify the type of battery you need to dispose of – AA, Button, Power Tool, etc. – to ensure that the drop-off point is able to accept them.
As manufacturers of the WORX Australia 20V lithium-ion POWERSHARE Batteries, we are committed to promoting safe battery disposal and recycling. It’s important to remember that when disposing of and recycling a Lithium-ion battery, the battery must be completely discharged, and the terminals must be clear taped.
Many other Lithium-ion power tool brand batteries have exposed metal that needs to be covered for safe disposal. Even though the WORX Australia Lithium-ion batteries have recessed terminals, it is best practice to tape these when safely disposing for recycling.
Recycling batteries keeps toxic materials out of landfill, where they can contaminate soil and groundwater. It also ensures that valuable materials in batteries are recycled into something new, which reduces the amount of finite natural resources used in the production of new batteries.
Batteries that are recycled are processed to recover plastics and metals, some of which are used to manufacture new batteries. Envirostream, Australia’s first onshore lithium, nickel metal, and alkaline battery processor, can recover 95% of the materials in batteries for recycling. Any steel, copper, and aluminum recovered is returned to the manufacturing sector for recycling, while the active components of lithium-ion batteries (including graphite, cobalt, nickel, and lithium) are used to produce a valuable product called mixed metal dust, which is used to create new lithium-ion batteries.
Whether you are someone who actively seeks out recycling solutions or you are someone who simply has some old household batteries to dispose of, B-cycle is the answer.
Simply follow the 3 simple steps below:
1️. Never dispose of batteries in waste or recycling bins
2. Tape used battery terminals with clear sticky tape
3. Take used batteries to a @Bcycleaus Drop off point
See the video below to learn how to tape your AA and button batteries correctly and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
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