WEEE Recycle & Compliance

Lithium-ion batteries are incredibly harmful to the environment and, when churned up amidst the mountains of rubbish dumped into a landfill, can easily cause a leak. Toxic metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium can quickly absorb into the soil, and eventually, make their way into the water supply. This toxicity is devastating for plants, animals and even humans.

In these conditions, the batteries are also liable to explode, setting alight the mix of materials into a toxic combination of chemicals polluting the atmosphere. Probably for the best that we avoid chucking these batteries in the bin then.

According to the UK HSE, every year an estimated 2 million tonnes of WEEE items are discarded by households and businesses in the UK. This is probably a good point to mention the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE) directive. If you want to read about this directive in more depth, you will find further information here; Government Guidance Notes (Department for Innovation and Skills).

In order to protect yourselves, the environment and to comply fully with the WEEE directive, we suggest you read and fully understand the following information to dispose of your batteries safely;

• Recycle your batteries using the authorised battery collection bins; you can typically find these at local retail outlets such as supermarkets
• Consider donating any undamaged and working batteries for use by someone else
• If you’ve bought the batteries from a local retailer, take them back, and they will be able to dispose of them safely on your behalf
• Don’t ever throw them in the bin.

All of our batteries adhere to WEEE protocol (products or packaging). You'll find our batteries marked with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol. This symbol serves as a reminder for both individuals and businesses to separate their WEEE and dispose of it responsibly.

As always, if you have any questions on battery disposal and recycling, please do not hesitate to get in contact with a member of our team.