Battery and Electrical Equipment Recycling

Battery Recycling

From 1st February 2010 the EU Battery Directive came into force. E-retailers and shops selling more than 32kg of batteries are required to provide battery recycling collection facilities in-store. Business that import more than one tonne of batteries a year are termed 'producers' and are required to finance the recovery and treatment of waste batteries through a registered compliance scheme. DuracellDirect is considered a producer and as such is registered with the ecosurety compliance scheme.

DuracellDirect is fully compliant with the battery directive. Please see • Recycle, Recycle, Recycle for recycling instructions.

Battery Recycling

Electrical Equipment Recycling

You can now recycle your old electricals with us. If you’re buying a new electrical item from us, we will recycle your old one for free. Please see • Recycle, Recycle, Recycle for recycling instructions.
Unwanted electrical equipment is the UKs fastest growing type of waste.
Many electrical items can be repaired or recycled, saving natural resources and the environment. If you do not recycle, electrical equipment will end up in landfill where hazardous substances will leak out and cause soil and water contamination – harming wildlife and also human health.
The Waste Electrical or Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires countries to maximise separate collection and environmentally friendly processing of these items. In the UK, distributors (including retailers) must provide a system which allows all customers buying new electrical equipment the opportunity to recycle their old items free of charge. Those establishing their own take-back scheme must as a minimum offer all customers buying new electrical equipment free take back of their old electricals on a like-for-like basis. Find more information on WEEE recycling, and locate your local recycling centre, at www.recyclenow.com.

Electrical Equipment Recycling

To remind you that old electrical equipment can be recycled, it is now marked with a crossed-out wheeled bin symbol. Please do not throw any electrical equipment (including those marked with the crossed out wheeled bin symbol) in your bin.


Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

Rather than simply disposing of your battery or electrical items with your household waste and thus committing it to landfill you should save it and recycle it when you next have the opportunity. There are plenty of places that you can recycle batteries or electrical items without taking time out of your normal routine: For example you can use one of the following:

  • Drop them into our recycling box on our trade counter
  • Use the recycling service at your local municipal waste tip / collection point
  • Use the council battery or electrical items collection service (if you are lucky enough to have one)
  • Drop the batteries or electrical items into the collection points located in most Supermarket chains

DuracellDirect UK operates a like for like take back scheme. If you would like us to recycle your batteries or waste WEEE items, please return them to our business premises in person. Please do not post them to us (you will be responsible for the cost). Our address is:

Recycling
DuracellDirect UK
2 Prince Georges
Colliers Wood
Merton
London
SW19 2PX

Our Trade Counter is open Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm

Please consider the environment when deciding how to recycle your battery or electrical items. Making a special journey to a recycling centre, will incur unnecessary transportation. One of the best recycling routes is to take the battery or electrical items to a major retailer like a supermarket. You can drop them off when you next do your food shopping.

DEFRA advises against sending waste batteries in the post


Battery Recyclying FAQ

Battery Recyclying FAQ

Q. Can batteries be recycled?
A. Yes, all batteries can be recycled. Metals and chemicals are recycled and those which cannot are treated for safe disposal

Q. Can batteries be thrown with household rubbish?
A. No, you should not throw any type of batteries with household waste. It is most likely to end up in a landfill or incinerated. The metals and chemicals contained within the battery are hazardous and are harmful to the environment.

Q. Are batteries dangerous?
A. Batteries contain hazardous chemicals and metals, whilst these are contained within the battery and the battery is handled correctly it is not dangerous.

Q. My battery is leaking, what should I do?
A. Place it in cardboard/plastic container and take it to your nearest battery recycling point. Do not use metal containers. Avoid contact with skin.

Q. My battery is damaged, can I post it to you to recycle?
A. No, please do not post batteries that are damaged in any way. Taking it personally to your nearest recycling point is the quickest and safest method.

Q. I have a laptop battery, can this be recycled?
A. Yes, laptop batteries can be recycled along with batteries for digital cameras, camcorders, power tools, mobile phones, toys and more.

Q. Surely, the AA and AAA alkaline batteries can be thrown?
A. No, these should be recycled as well and these types of household batteries account for the largest percentage that are commonly thrown with household waste.

Q. How would I know whether my rechargeable battery is ready to be recycled?
A. This varies between battery manufacturers. Duracell rechargeable batteries can be recharged 100s or even 1000s of times. When these rechargeable batteries fail to take a charge even after a few hours or seem to last for only a few minutes after an overnight charge, it may be time to recycle these batteries.

Q. I cannot remember where I bought my batteries, but can I still give them to DuracellDirect to recycle?
A. Yes, of course. It does not matter where you purchased the batteries, as long as they are not automotive or industrial batteries we can recyle them.

Q. I found some old car batteries in my garage, can I bring them to recycle?
A. Unfortunately, no. You will need to contact your local authority for more information on recycling automotive and specialist industrial batteries.

Q. Can I recycle the tiny button batteries like those used in watches>
A. Yes, these batteries can be recycled including those used in hearing aids, alarms, car key fobs, calculators, cycle computers and more.

Q. Will I be charged or do I have to pay for recycling my batteries?
A. No, recycling is free of charge. You will not be requested to make any payment when you bring in batteries to recycle at DuracellDirect.

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