Battery problems...

[Fitron]

Not the usual stuff but as I've just changed my M1 batteries what do I do with the dud ones in this environmental era. I cannot find anywhere in the UK to recycle them without it costing more energy to get them recycled than to bin them. What do europeans do? Pop them out to be collected I suppose, like everything else you are soooooooo far ahead on these matters.

[rewolf]

...What do europeans do? Pop them out to be collected I suppose, like everything else you are soooooooo far ahead on these matters.

I always believed Scotland IS in Europe??
We have an "empty battery" box at my workplace. From time to time there is a "Sondermüllsammlung" (hazardous waste collection?) or a colleague takes the whole box to the waste deposit.
In Germany, anybody that sells batteries is also obliged to accept empty batteries.

[Fitron]

I always believed Scotland IS in Europe??

[Fitron]

Aha! I contacted my local council enviromental officer and got this in reply.

The larger Sainsbury’s supermarket stores have recently introduced a FREEPOST battery recycling scheme for type D, C, AA, AAA, 9V and button batteries. You can collect a freepost envelope from the stores and post them away for recycling. If the envelopes are not located at or near the customer service desk, they’ll be further in the store at the battery section.

IKEA also take back their own brand of batteries for recycling.

The European Union has agreed the text of a law that will make recycling of batteries obligatory from 2008, so we are likely to see more options for recycling in the future. The directive will ban most batteries with more than a trace of the toxic chemicals cadmium or mercury. And it says that a quarter of all used batteries must be collected by 2012 - rising to 45% by 2016 - and that at least half of them must be recycled.

Get down to Sainsburys. I can use digi's with no guilty feeling.

[rewolf]

Good to see that other countries also have ways of disposing batteries in an environment-friendly way (at least as friendly as possible...)

[retroleds]

Here in the States most communities have "hazardous waste" days once of twice a year, when you can take batteries, old paint and chemicals,etc. to a collecting point for proper disposal. I usually have 2-3- gallon bags of watch batteries.

[Fitron]

Looking out the window wearing my newly changed clothes ('cos I got soaked cycling home I most definately live in Scotland. Only one person I know would have that many watch batteries to dispose of and that's Ed Cantarella aka Blofelt/Goldfinger/Scaramanga. I suspect that was an (Ed)itorial that got confused - or else he's trying to take over my personality.....