Call2Recycle Canada reaches over 40 million kilograms of batteries recycled

Call2Recycle Canada Inc. has celebrated passing over 40 million kilograms of used batteries diverted from landfills and recycled since the creation of the program in 1997.

This milestone is the result of a number of long-term collaborations across many Canadian sectors to build a sustainable battery recycling economy and reduce solid waste and carbon emissions. As reliance on battery-powered devices – from laptops to household appliances, e-bikes and electric vehicles (EVs) – continues to grow, this is likely to entail a sharp increase in the need for batteries to be responsibly managed at end-of-life over the coming decades. For over 25 years, federal and provincial governments, industries, and partners across multiple business sectors including power tools, e-bikes, retailers, and battery companies have been partnering with Call2Recycle.

Discarded batteries may end up in landfills where they may harm the environment and worsen Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Landfills are the largest source of emissions from Canada's solid waste sector (83 percent of total waste emissions in 2019). The 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan identifies waste prevention, reuse, and recycling as key sources of potential for GHG reductions.

Call2Recycle has been working to reduce these waste-related emissions since 1997 by partnering with battery manufacturers, retailers, provincial governments, and municipalities, to build an efficient collection program and support battery initiatives everywhere across the country. As Canada is gearing up for net-zero emission strategies towards 2050, Call2Recycle is ready to support the changes in the economy and increase battery recycling diversion rates in the coming years.

"This remarkable milestone is the result of hard work, commitment and collaboration from many stakeholders, from our battery manufacturing and retail members, collection site partners to provincial governments and municipalities, but above all from all Canadians over the last 25 years," said Joe Zenobio, president of Call2Recycle Canada. "As we look forward to our goals for the coming decades, we will continue innovating and expanding our recycling infrastructure so that it can support Canada's growing battery market, including the increased production of batteries for electric vehicles."

Over the past 25 years, Call2Recycle has built an extensive battery collection network with more than 10,000 participating collection locations across Canada, including at leading retailers and municipal facilities. Call2Recycle has focused on making battery recycling as accessible as possible for consumers, including establishing partnerships with local community organizations across Canada to help people recycle their batteries while building positive, long-lasting habits.

By recycling batteries properly, Call2Recycle says that Canadians are preventing fire risks, and the chemical and metal components of batteries from ending up in landfills and harming the environment.