BC Residents Embrace Battery Recycling Hitting New Milestones

Call2Recycle Canada – British Columbia's approved battery stewardship program – reached a collection milestone of 403,500 kilograms of batteries to date for 2014, equal to the weight of 57 full grown elephants, surpassing the total sum of batteries collected and diverted in the province in 2013.

The announcement marks an upward trend for battery recycling in BC – a province that is leading by example when it comes to responsible battery recycling practices. In 2013, Call2Recycle collected 10 per cent more batteries in BC than in 2012, and this year, the organization has already exceeded its BC 2013 total of 396,265 kilograms – equal to the weight of approximately 2,000 grizzly bears.

"This is an important milestone demonstrating a joint commitment by the residents of British Columbia and Call2Recycle Canada to help ensure batteries stay out of landfills. Our collaborative and comprehensive approach is a winning formula and we're committed to doing our part to increase battery diversion here in British Columbia and across the country," said Kristen Romilly, Director, Western Canada for Call2Recycle Canada.

Call2Recycle Canada is funded by battery and battery-powered product manufacturers to manage the safe collection and recycling of batteries. Since 2010, Call2Recycle has been the approved battery stewardship program in BC. Over the past five years, the organization has collected and diverted more than 1.6 million kilograms of batteries from over 1,600 Call2Recycle collection locations in BC alone, including at retailers like London Drugs, Staples and The Home Depot.

The organization helps ensure the maximum amount of batteries are collected and diverted by providing a program that is simple, convenient and effective – 95% of BC residents live within 15 kilometers of a Call2Recycle collection site, which accept both rechargeable and primary batteries. Call2Recycle Canada supports retailers, municipalities and other collection sites with dedicated resources and materials to complement their existing educational efforts, while also working with partners such as Earth Day Canada and Science World to educate on the importance and ease of recycling batteries.