Greenhouse effects: Batteries

Tony Juniper

The average British household uses 21 batteries a year. As a nation, we throw away more than 600m every year — that’s getting on for almost 20,000 tons of them, almost all of which finish up in landfill sites.
Most batteries contain heavy metals, which can leak into the ground when the casing corrodes, polluting the land and groundwater.
Recycling is one way to reduce the environmental impact of battery use. The metals and plastic casing can be recovered and re-used. Computer and other electrical-goods retailers, such as Currys and PC World have battery-collection boxes in most stores.
Our council has battery-recycling collection points at the council office, household-waste recycling centres and Waitrose. Contact your council, or visit savebatterywaste.com to find out about recycling-collection points in your area. A few local authorities organise kerbside collection services.
We can do much better than this. The battery recycling rate in Britain is at 2-3% — compared with more than 50% in Belgium. Better still, however, would be to avoid new batteries altogether.
Batteries are not an efficient way to power devices. The energy used to manufacture one is about 50 times greater than the energy it will provide. You should use mains power instead, wherever possible. Having a dynamo light system fitted to your bicycle can also do away with that frantic scrabble for a useable set of lights.
If you do need to use batteries, rechargeable ones are a greener option. They will save you money because they can be used over and over again. In addition, using rechargeables reduces the number of batteries manufactured. Do not put rechargeable batteries in a smoke alarm, however. The last bit of power can go quickly and without warning.
The USBCell is a battery that charges from a computer USB port, removing the need for a separate charger (usbcell.com). So far it is available only in AA size, but the manufacturer says others are coming. Its nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) composition makes it less toxic than nickel–cadmium batteries. It also has the advantage of lasting for a greater number of recharge cycles.
Tony Juniper is an environmental campaigner and former director of Friends of the Earth; tonyjuniper.com