This item appeared April 9 on our “Tyrannical Pesticide By-law” posting:
I want to talk about batteries – but don’t know how to start a new thread here.
Batteries are going into landfills. The contamination is *insane* and our supposedly environmentally concerned councillors don’t make a peep about that. How about a battery re-cycling center at city hall? I’d be into that – just don’t make a separate battery bag I need to use or I’ll just keep wrapping them in a kleenex and putting them in the green bag. KW
The following day, this item appeared in the Guelph Mercury.
Consumers recycle only about two per cent of batteries they use and thousands of tonnes of toxic battery waste ends up in landfills every year, says a new study by Environment Canada.
It’s estimated Canadians will discard 495 million rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries in 2010, up from 347 million in 2004.
Batteries contain heavy metals which may leach from landfills into drinking water, says the report.
By 2010, the annual waste from batteries is projected to contain 747 tonnes of lead, which is known to impair intelligence in children; 0.5 tonnes of mercury, which can damage the human nervous system; and 287 tonnes of nickel, 543 tonnes of zinc, and 3,501 tonnes of manganese, all of which have some toxic properties.
The data cast doubt on the effectiveness of voluntary programs to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour. Many municipalities and retailers have recycling programs but their recovery rate is low.
Environmentalists recommend “producer responsibility” legislation making manufacturers responsible for the recovery and recycling of their products and Manitoba has proposed such a program. Environment Minister John Baird suggested he is working on the problem.
“The results of this study will help Environment Canada challenge the battery industry to improve the recovery and recycling of batteries,” he said in a statement.
These items were forwarded to staff at the City of Guelph Wet/Dry recycling facility for comment:
Household batteries don’t pose much of a problem for us(Wet/Dry). The collection staff are supposed to refuse to collect any bags that contain batteries at the curb. This hopefully ensures that Guelph residents bring their batteries to the Household Hazardous Waste depot so that they are properly disposed of. In 2006, 3,400 household batteries were collected at the HHW depot.
I definitely support the idea of producer responsibility and hope that soon there is legislation passed to mandate this practice. Staff