National battery recycling scheme B-Cycle launches

A government backed battery recycling program launches today with a co-ordinated effort to ensure the millions of batteries we go through every year are kept out of landfill.

Get this – Australians buy enough batteries to circle the earth 2.3 times and in our draws and jars on shelves around the country there are over 150 million loose batteries in our homes.

Batteries have for a long time been recyclable for the most part there hasn’t been a co-ordinated approach to the collect and recycling program.

From today, Aussies can find their nearest drop-off point with a simple postcode search on the new B-Cycle website.

It’s a huge network – 2,351 locations including ALDI, Bunnings, Officeworks, Woolworths and more with Coles coming in the months ahead.

B-Cycle has been created by the not-for-profit Battery Stewardship Council and is supported by State and Federal Governments and authorised by the ACCC.

Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans said, “The Australian Government has invested $1 million for the Battery Stewardship Council to establish and launch B-cycle: our new national recycling scheme for batteries. All Australians can help Australia move to a circular economy in which we routinely recycle and reuse our waste resources by taking their used batteries including household batteries, power tool batteries, camera batteries, and e-bike batteries to participating drop off points including ALDI, Bunnings, Officeworks, Total Tools, Woolworths, and soon Coles”.

Libby Chaplin, CEO of B-cycle said, “Our day to day lives are fast moving to a battery powered world – yet the materials we rely on for those batteries are in limited supply. The new B-cycle Scheme brings people, businesses and communities together to make sure that no used battery goes to waste, protecting people, our planet, and future battery materials. Now with B-cycle, consumers will be able to access our accredited network of battery drop off points and be confident their batteries are being safely recycled. We’re looking forward to Australians getting familiar with their local B-cycle bins and taking advantage of this new Scheme.” 

We’re fortunate enough to live in a council area with a fantastic local recycling centre, so we’ve been recycling batteries for a long time. The tip is, get a jar, and feed it batteries in the same way you put change in the money box. It’s really simple. When it fills up you take it to empty and recycle.

Just the little things for us all to do our bit.