Batteries are the most common form of hazardous waste disposed of by Australian households, but the good news is that they can be recycled into a range of new products such as street lights and car parts.
In Australia, about 350 million batteries are purchased every year. More than two thirds of them end up in landfill, where they can cause health and environmental problems.
Heavy metals in batteries include cadmium, nickel, lead and mercury, which are all toxic and dangerous to human, animal and environmental health if not managed properly. Batteries in landfill damage the environment because, once their casings disintegrate, metals and chemicals inside the battery leach out.
You can prevent this type of environmental damage by dropping your vehicle and household batteries at the Albury Recycling Centre for free. Once we’ve received them they can be made into new products such as street lights and car parts.
Some of the new uses for your old batteries include:
- Recycling nickel to produce stainless steel
- Recycling acid to form sodium sulphate, which is used to make detergents, glass and textiles
- The production of new batteries, fertilisers, waste bins and plant pots.