NEW APPROACHES TO THE COLLECTION OF SCRAP BATTERIES

Lead/acid batteries are by far the largest use of lead and they contin ue to grow in importance, both as a proportion of total lead use and i n actual tonnage terms. They are also well suited to recycling and rep resent the major source of recoverable lead. As such, they are collect ed and recycled in large numbers in most countries. Unfortunately, the economics of recycling are not always favourable and recycling rates are therefore prone to fluctuation, tending to fall at times of low le ad price and rise when prices are firmer. On top of this, tightening e nvironmental standards are imposing additional costs on those involved in battery collection and recovery and are discouraging some traditio nal participants from continuing involvement in the process. As a resu lt, considerable attention is being paid to ways of ensuring consisten tly high rates of battery recovery. Various approaches have been consi dered, both voluntary and compulsory, and several have been put into p ractice. Two main collection routes are used: the battery distribution network and the scrap-metal trade. A range of different measures are employed including acceptance of scrap batteries by retailers, compuls ory exchange of old batteries for new, prohibitions on disposal of scr ap batteries with household waste, returnable deposits on battery sale s, and environmental levies. In all cases, the schemes are backed by e ducation campaigns to ensure their effectiveness. The paper examines t he principles behind the various approaches and describes several of t he schemes that have been piloted or introduced in different countries .