Consumer campaign to collect li-ion batteries separately during the Week of Safety within the waste sector

The Week of Safety within the waste sector, which revolves around a safe work environment, takes place at the start of June. A campaign will be launched during that week to encourage consumers and companies to hand in loose batteries and electrical devices with li-ion batteries at one of the many collection points in the Netherlands, so they do not end up in residual waste. Handing them in at collection points in shops and at municipal recycling centres means they are safely transported to a specialist processor who processes them into new raw materials in the correct way. The campaign is an initiative of Taskforce Batterijbranden.

Collection Prevents Harm

Loose batteries and discarded electronic devices with fixed (built-in) accumulators or batteries can be handed in at one of the Stibat or Wecycle collection points in shops and at municipal recycling centres. There are also various options for companies to discard electronic waste safely and free of charge via wecyclevoorbedrijven.nl. The discarded devices and batteries can then be processed into raw materials. Separate collection prevents the batteries from becoming damaged and therefore potentially unstable. This risk can occur if batteries end up in residual waste. This does not occur with normal use or separate collection.

Campaign to Promote Local Collection Points for Electronic Waste

There has been a sharp increase in the use of rechargeable li-ion batteries in recent years. These include things like loose batteries, mobile phones or e-cigarettes. At the same time, there are now far more local collection points for consumers and companies where these can easily be handed in. These devices, loose batteries and the various collection points will be highlighted via a national radio and social media campaign. Companies will be offered a Corporate Stibat Battery Storage Box in the run-up to the campaign. Disposal is made easy thanks to the many collection points.

Taskforce Batterijbranden

The Taskforce has devised a Strategy (in Dutch) with a number of action points, including the abovementioned campaign. Taskforce Batterijbranden comprises Stichting Stibat Services, Vereniging Afvalbedrijven (VA), Nederlandse Vereniging van Afval en Reiniging Diensten (NVRD), Branche Vereniging Recycling Breken en Sorteren (BRBS), Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN), Nationaal Recycling Forum (NRF), and Stichting OPEN. It was established to ensure the separate collection of as many (devices with) li-ion batteries as possible.