Veolia has today (October 28) unveiled plans to build what would be one of the UK's first portable battery recycling facilities after signing up the country's largest battery producer, Duracell, to its batteries compliance scheme.
The company said the decision by Duracell's owners, Procter & Gamble, to leave its current scheme, ERP, for the BatteryBack scheme which Veolia runs as a joint-venture with Leeds-based WasteCare, made it the UK's largest batteries compliance scheme.
If built, the facility could potentially go a long way to addressing concerns about the current lack of domestic recycling capacity for portable batteries, and the carbon emissions involved in shipping an estimated 60% of them overseas for recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
This is expected to become particularly significant as the UK looks to dramatically increase its portable battery collection rate to meet European targets, beginning with a 25% goal set for 2012.
Commenting on Duracell's move to BatteryBack for the 2011 compliance period, Veolia's recycling services manager, Chris Turner, claimed it reflected both Veolia's strong relationship with Procter & Gamble and the success the compliance scheme had see in developing a collection network.
“We are growing as a scheme in producer market share and have seen an increase in battery collections since the start of the year. The first year's battery compliance process for the UK is nearly complete and we have already met our 2010 target,” he said.
Peter Hunt, chief executive at WasteCare, added that the scheme was already collecting around 40% of all portable batteries being collected in the UK.
And, he said that if BatteryBack could increase this further it would be able to reduce costs for its members – and therefore consumers, as well as reducing the environmental impact of collections.
Duracell
Duracell, which has an estimated 55% share of the UK portable battery market originally signed up to ERP for the 2010 compliance period in September 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story), claiming the scheme had the “right credentials” to meet the UK's battery recycling goals.
But, in switching to BatteryBack, the company's global sustainability manager, Khush Marolia, claimed it was “moving from a standpoint of regulatory compliance to a model of compliance causing the least burdens on the environment”.
“Our goal is to demonstrate that battery collection and recycling can be net positive for the environment compared to landfilling and then to maximise that benefit as far as possible,” he added.
Facility
Outlining its current plans for the battery recycling facility, a spokeswoman for Veolia told letsrecycle.com: “We will be developing a facility in the Midlands capable of treating a range of battery chemistries. This is due to be commissioned in early 2012.
“Although mainly developed to treat portable batteries, it is envisaged that other waste materials will also be able to be treated which involve the recovery of metals similar to those extracted from portable batteries.”
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