The company said that “WasteCare want to take this opportunity to remind us all how important it is for everyone to do their bit to help our environment.
“Currently in the UK over 20,000 tonnes of portable batteries end up in landfill sites every year. That is over 800 million batteries! Equivalent to the weight of over 4,400 African elephants.”
To raise awareness of this issue, the company explained that in partnership with battery producer Duracell, it has organised, for the third year running, the Big Battery Hunt, involving more than 1.3 million schoolchildren from 5,500 schools across the UK.
Sculpture
So far this year the Big Battery Hunt has been responsible for recycling an additional 170 tonnes of used portable batteries with another 29,641 contributing to the full-sized sculpture on show at the Hanwell Zoo in the borough of Ealing, west London.
“Hopefully Jumbo will remind us never to forget the importance of recycling.”
Peter Hunt
Managing director, WasteCare
Peter Hunt, managing director of WasteCare said: “With schools competing for prizes ranging from a 2-night class trip to the Sustainability Centre to an ipad, the plan is for the Big Battery Hunt to become an annual stampede, ensuring valuable commodities are not discarded but recycled for a sustainable future. The used battery can so easily be forgotten, hopefully Jumbo will remind us never to forget the importance of recycling.”
Currently resident at Hanwell Zoo in West London, Jumbo, the 10ft-tall sculpture will be making an appearance at the RWM Show at the NEC, Birmingham next month.
Defra
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs highlighted UK support for the Darwin Initiative elephant project today (12 August) in Myanmar which is aided by the Elephant Family Charity.
International Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith said: “World Elephant Day is a chance to celebrate the brilliant individuals and organisations around the globe who are dedicated to protecting this iconic species for future generations.
“The Darwin Initiative is critical in supporting this type of international conservation project, and for ensuring local communities are central to conservation initiatives.”
Related links
BigBatteryHunt
Subscribe for free