Valpak raises £5,000 through battery campaign

It says the campaign also resulted in 1,006 new battery collection points at business sites.

As part of #PowerToDoMore, Valpak donated £5 to Warwickshire-and-Worcestershire-based charity Springfield Mind for every battery collection box ordered. Battery boxes are free of charge for commercial businesses and retail outlets.

The campaign ran in July 2020 and then again in October, raising £5,030.

Valpak’s head of procurement Jon Clement said: “Through the #PowerToDoMore campaign, Valpak has launched a consumer campaign to improve public awareness and drive participation.

“We are also focusing on carbon by expanding our zero-carbon battery collection service and, finally, we have been supporting our local mental health charity Mind by donating £5 for every battery collection box ordered.

“Since the campaign started, 1,006 battery collection boxes have been ordered; once full, this represents a whopping 15 tonnes – or 750,000 AA batteries – to be collected.”

Valpak says there will be more campaigns in the future, aiming to increase the recycling of batteries and WEEE, while helping local charities at the same time.

Collection

Valpak offers a free portable battery recycling service. Customers are sent containers relevant to their needs, to be collected and recycled once full.

The organisation, such as a business or a school, contacts Valpak when they are ready. Ecobat Logistics, Valpak’s approved batteries treatment facility contractor, then collects and processes the batteries.

Campaign

As part of its campaign, Valpak says it developed free tools for local authorities to communicate with business customers, encouraging them to segregate waste batteries.

It partnered with North Tyneside Council to launch a consumer campaign around battery disposal.

And, it invited all school pupils in the South Tyne and Weir area to take part in a competition to design a poster highlighting the potential fire hazards of discarded batteries. The winners will be displayed on GAP waste collection vehicles.

Valpak also says it was the first producer compliance scheme to introduce a carbon-free, cycle courier collection service, after partnering with logistics provider Zedify in Cambridge and London. It says its schemes in those cities have generated 7.369 tonnes of waste batteries for recycling. The scheme recently moved into Hoxton and Waltham Forest.

‘Thank you’

Emily Styles, fundraiser at Springfield Mind, said: “We’d like to give a massive thank you to Valpak, who are supporting Springfield Mind with a donation as part of their #PowerToDoMore battery box recycling campaign.

“The need for our services is greater than ever and this is set to grow well into the future due to the legacy of Covid; therefore, we are so thankful that Valpak have chosen to donate vital funds to support us with our mission to promote wellbeing and prevent mental health problems in Warwickshire and Worcestershire.”