Valpak says it provides approximately 50,000 battery collection boxes to retailers, schools and businesses around the UK and analyses data for companies to assess how much is being recycled.
Jon Clement, Valpak’s head of procurement, said: “We have been collecting data on battery recycling since 2010 and, traditionally, we see a boost in numbers in January and February – post-Christmas – followed by a slowing-down in spring, smaller numbers in the summer and then a build-up again in December in the run-up to Christmas.
“This year, however, there have been steady figures each month and the number of small batteries in our recycling collections across the UK is up by 32%.”
Mr Clement said the drivers behind the increase were “uncertain”. “For obvious reasons, the numbers went down during the pandemic, but they have bounced much higher this year and we cannot say categorically why consumer behaviour is changing,” he said.
However, he added that the increase was “welcome” and “good news for UK battery recycling”.
Collection
The UK’s official portable battery collection rate is calculated from the weight of waste portable batteries for which compliance schemes supply battery evidence notes in 2022.
In 2022, the target collection rate is 45% of the weight of the portable batteries placed on the market.
Data from the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) shows that 16,789 tonnes of portable batteries had been placed on the market as of 26 August.
The NPWD shows 9,867 tonnes of waste portable batteries had been collected in 2022 by June, equating to a collection rate of around 58%.
However, a message from the Environment Agency on the NPWD reads: “We are aware of a discrepancy in data reported between the tonnage of waste portable batteries collected/delivered for treatment in the UK and evidence notes accepted for 2022.”
The Agency says it will republish the data “once this anomaly has been rectified”.
Last year, there were 43,474 tonnes of portable batteries placed on the market and 18,292 tonnes collected, equating to a 45.89% collection rate.
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