Recycling batteries and electrical products

 
Non-rechargeable batteries
Normal non-rechargeable batteries are not recyclable. There have been various moves to address this issue, but the industry has focussed attention on reducing the amount of toxic materials in the batteries. Although much safer to dispose of this also unfortunately makes them less valuable and therefore less attractive to recycle.

Rechargeable batteries
Rechargeable batteries can be recycled and many retailers have collection facilities. However, highly toxic heavy metals (predominantly cadmium and nickel) are used in their production. It is still probably preferable to use rechargeable batteries where possible as long as you ensure you send them for recycling when they are life-expired. Better still is to use mains adapters where possible.

A note on Rechargables: The trick here is to buy more expensive rechargeables and keep them longer. The ones I have been using have been Ni-Cd which are in the cheaper range, like 1 UKP each. But when recharged they only deliver 1.2 volts and have a limited life like 800 mAh.

What I now have are Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) which are 4 UKP each but recharge in five hours and deliver 1.5 volts with a life of 1300 mAh. For more money I can have 2000 mAh life. These sometimes have to be specially ordered since the smaller shops are unwilling to stock expensive things which only the readers of this message will ask for.

Electrical goods
Electrical goods are recycled if taken to the tip. If the item is still working it can be donated to Guild Care, who operate a re-use scheme. This includes Refrigerators, TVs, VHS/CD Players, Computers, Phones. Under the new European Directives, all waste electrical goods will be banned from landfill and manufacturers will be responsible for disposal. No-one is quite sure how this will be implemented practically as yet. The crisis of the fridge mountain appears to have been solved, with all local fridges taken to the tip being dismantled and recycled locally.