The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said that more roadside collection points and greater information to the public are two ‘critical’ factors in ensuring Britain meets its battery recycling targets.

The Consortium is confident that retailers are ready and willing to provide this service. Bob Gordon, head of environment at BRC says: “The aim of reducing the number of batteries going to landfill is a good one. Retailers recognise their responsibilities and they’re ready with the facilities.”

The challenge now is to make sure that the provided collection points cause minimum disruption to the retailers and customers. BatteryBack appear to be the only battery recycler that have come up with a bespoke, easily recognisable container which has been specially designed to cause minimum disruption throughout the collection and recycling process. Peter Hunt, Chief executive of BatteryBack explains: "As far as we are aware only one other scheme is supplying a recycling vessel to retailers, and this is in the form of a cardboard box which cannot be used to transport the batteries. The BatteryCans that we use are robust and offer minimal disruption to the retailer as they do not have to be decanted before transportation."

BatteryBack already has over 10,000 battery collection points across the UK at civic amenity sites, schools, supermarkets and other retailers. The number of BatteryCan collection points is growing daily and BatteryBack aim to have 30,000 sites by the end of 2010.

Latest figures from the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA) have shown that some 10,000 tonnes of rubbish put out for recycling was rejected by its £5m sorting machine in the last 12 months.

At present around one third of all waste is recycled in Merseyside, and the local authorities are keen to increase this. However about one tonne in every seven being to the recycling facility is being rejected.

A spokesperson for the Bidston Materials Recovery Facility says: “This is stuff that people are putting in recycling bins in error such as yoghurt pots and plastic film.”

People are clearly trying to recycle, but more education on what can and can’t be recycled is obviously still needed.

Research by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has shown that men use more batteries than women. According to the survey, the average UK male owns 12 battery operated gadgets.

The survey also found that almost two thirds of these males throw away their used batteries rather than recycling them.

It is estimated that only 3 per cent of batteries are currently recycled. The Uk target for battery recycling is for 25 per cent by 2012.

Peter Hunt, chief executive of BatteryBack says: “We have done a lot of work to raise awareness of the battery recycling facilities that are now available across the country. Consumers should start to notice our BatteryCan recycling points at civic amenities, supermarkets and other retailers across the country. The convenience of these facilities should encourage more people to recycle their batteries from now on.”

The Scottish Government has promised to provide an extra £7m of funding for council waste and recycling services. This follows the release of figures which revealed that the country is a long way off meeting its 2010 target to recycle 40 per cent of municipal waste by the end of 2010.

The figures showed that Scotland only managed to achieve a 35.9 per cent recycling rate for the time period of October 2008 to September 2009. The data was collated by the government waste database WasteDataFlow and published by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).

Richard Lochhead, environment secretary said, “18 of our 32 authorities have met the target. These, targets, therefore, are attainable. To help the 14 under achieving local authorities we have announced an extra £7m for local government funding. We are also planning a national campaign to get everyone in the recycling habit.”

BatteryBack is receiving unprecedented levels of enquiries from the general public and battery retailers following prime time coverage earlier this week on both the BBC and ITV national news. Coverage from both networks demonstrated the new retail recycling service by showcasing the leading service provider – BatteryBack; as their distinctive eye-catching containers were clearly visible throughout the news item.

From last Monday new Regulations have come into force that require retailers of batteries to offer free battery collection to their customers. BatteryBack has been running a campaign since last September to ensure all UK retailers are ready in time to meet the new Regulations. So far over 11,500 outlets have taken up the free service. As a result of this fantastic coverage, BatteryBack are now proving irresistibly popular with both the general public, wishing to learn more about battery recycling, and retailers, hoping to benefit from the same service shown on the TV. With enquiries reaching into the hundreds every day, BatteryBack is set to become Britain's favourite battery recycler. Britain currently disposes of over 1 billion batteries every year.

Please click here to view the coverage.

Following the official start of the Battery Recycling Scheme on the 1st January 2010, the Government has urged the public to recycle their used batteries.

On their website Directgov say: "Until now, it hasn't always been easy to recycle batteries, as you may not have had a collection point near you,"

"The good news is that you can now expect to find collection points in most supermarkets and many high street shops, as well as some town halls, libraries and schools."

According to Directgov, over 12,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided if the country can meet its target of recycling at least 45 per cent of batteries by 2016.

WasteCare is one of the main schemes to provide battery recycling services in the UK. Their battery cans (where the public can leave their used batteries) can be found in may retail outlets including Morrions and Asda.

Defra has launched a consultation which will eventually make producers of farms films responsible for the collection and recycling of the material. The aim is to recycle 80 per cent of the material within four years. At the moment, only 20 per cent of the material is recycled.

The consultation, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales, outlines two potential approaches to introducing producer responsibility for farm films - or non-packaging agricultural plastics - such as silage wrap and crop covers.

The plan also outlines staged targets for collecting the 83,000 tonnes of waste farm films that arise in the UK each year, starting at 40 per cent in 2012, moving to 60 per cent in 2013 and 70 per cent in 2014, before the eventual 80 per cent goal.

The plans are out for consultation until 22nd February 2010.

The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has said that anticipated alterations to the WEEE Directive will not come into force until the end of the year.

The changes are expected to lead to a three fold increase in the amount of electrical equipment covered by the Directive therefore tripling the recycling targets for WEEE. According to letsrecycle.com, the draft recast of the WEEE Directive is currently making its way through European Union members involved in the decision process.

However, concern has been aired over proposals to introduce a new 65 per cent collection target to be reached by all member states by 2016 - moving from the current weight-based goals - and to extend producer responsibility.

There is pre-preliminary meeting due on the WEEE Directive by a council working group on the 15th January, a report will then be drawn up outlining the commission's proposals to be voted on by the Parliament's Environmental Committee in April. A full plenary session of the Parliament is then set to vote on proposed amendments at a discussion scheduled for June 2010.

Watch this space for more details as this develops throughout the year.

As of 1st January 2010 eleven new experts have joined the WEEE Advisory Body, these experts join the ten existing members of the body to be re-appointed.

Business minister Ian Lucas selected the new members back in the beginning of December, amongst them is Lee Marshall, former chairman of the Local Authority Recycling Committee (LARAC).

The WEEE Advisory Body was formed in December 2007 to help steer government policy on WEEE and provide independent advice on the development of the WEEE system following the implementation of the WEEE Directive in the UK.

The new appointments are:
• Scott Butler - general manager, ERP
• Lynne Cullis - chief operating officer, The Wastepack Group
• Richard Davies - chief executive, Gearrs Wales
• Bill Griffiths - national recycling manager, Viridor
• Barry Groves OBE - director, Northern Compliance
• Andrew Hanratty - compliance director, Veolia Environmental Services
• Adrian Hawkes - director of policy, Valpak
• Simon Hill - commercial manager (recycling), Wincanton
• Lee Marshall - senior manager (policy and Waste), Powys county council
• Claudia Kuss-Tenzer - research and policy programme manager, Waste Watch
• Eddie Taylor - chief executive (strategy), Lighting Industry Federation


Remaining members of the body are:
• Peter Caliafas, chairman
• Julie-Ann Adams - Adams Consulting Services
• Joy Boyce - head of corporate and environmental affairs, Fujitsu Services
• Jonathan Gorman - regulatory policy manager, Tesco Stores
• Gary Griffiths - environmental & quality systems manager, RDC
• John Holbrow - non-executive chairman, Pollution Monitors
• Dr Leigh Holloway - environmental consultant, eco3
• Terry Macguire - chairman and managing director, Computer Remarketing Services
• Dr Kirstie McIntyre - environmental takeback compliance manager, Hewlett Packard
• Mark Shelton - waste promotions manager, Donarbon Waste Management

"The snow lies on the ground, the country is in deep recession, unemployment is rising, the Government are increasing taxes to deal with record breaking budget deficits and Silver Lining Industries is making its first collection of waste."

We are talking about the 6th January 1980. Yes 30 years ago things looked bleak but whether we were brave or daft we felt the need to give it a go. The transport fleet consisted of an Escort estate with trailer. The target market was the recycling of photographic and x-ray silver bearing waste. The first collection was 160 litres of photographic bleach fixer from Wymondham Photographic in Norfolk. The price paid to the customer £120. Yes we paid for the pleasure. However the price of silver had reached £16.20 per ounce, rising to £26.80/oz by April before collapsing to £1.87/oz 15 years later. Even now the price of silver is barely £10/oz and in real terms is worth less than £4/oz.

In the first 10 years we focussed on the printing, x-ray and photo sectors growing market share to 65%, 55% and 70% respectively. Our only income coming from the silver we extracted. Output peaked at 40 tonnes per annum. Fortunately by the mid nineties we began to diversify into recycling electronics, dry cleaning residues and solvents, later expanding heavily in the retail sector. 30 years on the Group now boasts 13 licensed regional facilities, 170 trucks, 360 personnel handling over 12,000 collections per month dealing with over 450 different waste streams on behalf of over 28,000 customers.

Let us see what we can do over the next 30 years and just hope the economy and the weather is a little more favourable next time around.

Thank you to all our customers both old and new for all your support and encouragement over the last 30 years. We look forward to serving you in the future.

Best wishes for 2010 and beyond.