Battery Facts

We are about to publish a new report on batteries and recycling on the Resource Efficiency KTN website. Several retailers have already started battery recycling collections as a result of the upcoming EU Batteries Directive. Here are a few facts on batteries in the UK:

• The UK currently only collects 3 to 4% of batteries for recycling (Austria collects over 60%)
• 670 million portable batteries were sold in the UK in 2007
• 40% of UK battery sales occur between October and Christmas Day
• Sales of rechargeable batteries are growing at 10% a year
• Around 22,000 tonnes of portable batteries are sent to landfill every year in the UK
• The energy needed to make a battery is 50 times greater than the energy they give out