Battery collection boxes for Rochdale

Date published: 15/12/2005

Battery collection boxes may soon start to appear in every Rochdale home after Euro-MEPs backed plans to boost recycling and halt the leaching of acid from old batteries into soil and water.

The European Parliament has voted in favour of proposals for a quarter of all household batteries used annually per person to be collected for recycling within six years.

Rochdale MBC will be expected to make arrangements for the collection of batteries from households. Industry must then ensure that at least half of their content is recycled.

Five EU nations currently exceed this collection target with battery collection boxes a familiar sight in homes and offices.  In Britain only industrial and vehicles batteries are recycled at present.

Controversially, MEPs have also called for the long term replacement of nickel-cadmium and lead batteries by less toxic alternatives.  They want an immediate ban on their use in household products such as electric toothbrushes and shavers but have supported exemptions for most other purposes until effective alternatives have been developed.

Rochdale Euro-MP Chris Davies, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman in the Parliament, said it was a measured approach that balanced the potential hazards of cadmium with the reality that there were no effective alternatives for use in products such as cordless power tools and aviation control systems.

He said: "Cadmium is a carcinogenic substance that accumulates in the human body and is very toxic to aquatic life.  We should be looking to develop alternatives and phase out its use, but the immediate priority is simply to make sure that we collect as many cadmium batteries as possible and ensure that they are safely recycled."

Iron, nickel and silver can all be recovered from recycled household batteries which might otherwise contaminate soil and groundwater. Incineration of incinerated batteries can release toxins and heavy metals into the atmosphere.