Battery recycling scheme launched

11.44.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 3rd Jul 2009

You can now take spent household batteries to any one of the ten household recycling centres in Wiltshire.

The sites will accept all types of household batteries, including rechargeable battery packs used in DIY tools and digital cameras, laptop batteries, small "button" or watch-type batteries, as well as the typical AA and AAA batteries. Car batteries will continue to be recycled in separate containers.

The council and its contractor Hills Waste have joined with the company Valpak who have helped provide the new containers and who will be responsible for taking the batteries away to be recycled.

Every year the average household disposes of 21 batteries so in Wiltshire up to four million batteries could now be diverted away from landfill.

Batteries contain a range of heavy metals that can be used for other purposes once the batteries have been recycled.

New regulations that came into force in May 2009 place responsibility on battery manufacturers to recycle their products once they reach the end of their life. The cost of this scheme will be paid by Valpak which is working with producers to help them comply with the new regulations.