Batteries campaign

The research suggests that at least 25% of the UK population appear to be binning batteries, and nearly a third (29%) of those people who dispose of electrical items have put at least one of them in a household bin or the wrong recycling container in the past year.

Many people are unaware that there are embedded batteries in some electrical waste and the electrical items most disposed of within the last year are: electric toothbrushes (39% of respondents), device charger/powerbank (24%) and shavers/trimmers (22%). Other items commonly disposed of included electric toys, power tools, e-cigarettes, and Bluetooth earbuds.

Of the people who throw batteries in the bin, most say they don’t know what to do with them, and only 10% of those that bin batteries are aware of the fire risk. Those binning batteries appear more likely to be younger and female, particularly for loose batteries.

People who are aware, or who are made aware, of the fire risk are less likely to bin batteries. 

Currently five districts collect batteries at the kerbside. All HWRCs collect batteries and Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) separately. Valpak provides WEEE compliance and have offered support and resources to encourage participation in their schemes and support the schools' batteries scheme. Valpak have also confirmed that they are able to collect vapes for processing. 

Campaign objectives

This campaign is designed to: 

• Increase awareness of risks associated with incorrect disposal of batteries, including hidden/embedded batteries and WEEE 
• Increase knowledge of correct disposal and recycling methods and locations
• Increase awareness of benefits of correct disposal
• Reduce the number of fires at HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centres)
• Increase correct disposal of batteries and WEEE at HWRC
• To communicate the normative behaviours of batteries/WEEE disposal to change behaviours

Although vapes will be covered within this campaign, it will not be specific within the messaging and targeting at this stage. 

Key messages

• 75% of the UK population appear to avoid putting batteries, or devices with batteries.
• Most people in Lancashire dispose of small electricals correctly. However some are still putting devices with batteries in with their household waste and this is causing dangerous and costly fires.
• Batteries must be disposed of properly in designated bins and not in normal waste bin – these can cause fires
• Batteries can be found in a number of electrical appliances – if it has a wire/plug, battery or requires charging it needs to be disposed of separately and safely.

When you throw a battery in with your household rubbish, there's no way it can be recycled safely. 

• Lots of items around the home and office can contain hidden or embedded batteries in them. 
• Even when items no longer work or the power has drained, their batteries can still cause fires, at home, in lorries or at household recycling centres.
• This can be very costly and dangerous not to mention the environmental impact.
• Find out how and where to dispose of different batteries at lancashire.gov.uk/recycle 
• Let's keep Lancashire cleaner, greener and safer.

Social media messaging

Suggested messaging. Please see the assets section below to download the image files.

Assets

Use of images: The images in this toolkit must only be used in the promotion of this campaign and must not be used for any other purpose.

Facebook

Instagram

Poster