It seems consumers in Canada and the U.S. are becoming more conscious of their environmental efforts when it comes to old tech gadgets, with a record 14 million points of batteries and cell phones having been collected in North America by Call2Recycle, Inc. through 2016.
According to the battery stewardship and recycling organization, enhanced accessibility and consumer awareness played a vital role in driving the 12% increase in total weight of materials collected and responsibly recycled over 2015.
This marks the 20th consecutive year of increased collections by Call2Recycle, contributing to the 129 million pounds of batteries diverted from landfills over the past 21 years.
Call2Recycle's network of industry stewards and collection partners includes retailers and municipalities. Through these partnerships, rechargeable and primary battery collections in the U.S. amounted to nearly eight-million pounds last year, an 11% increase over 2015. Collections from public, consumer-facing networks totalled more than 4.7 million pounds of batteries, a rise of 28%. Collections from municipalities alone saw substantial growth of 150% year-to-date.
"Thanks to the support of our dedicated industry stewards and collection partners, Call2Recycle's program has achieved unprecedented success through increasing consumer awareness," says Carl Smith, CEO & President of Call2Recycle, Inc. "By offering a convenient, comprehensive and flexible recycling solution for both rechargeable and primary batteries, we are winning in the effort to make it easier for people to recycle their batteries throughout North America."
Additionally, the number of primary batteries collected skyrocketed in 2016 with a 158% increase. This growth was fuelled in part by legislation that led Vermont to become the first state in the U.S. requiring producers to finance a collection and recycling program for single-use (primary) batteries. As the appointed stewardship organization for Vermont, Call2Recycle provides convenient drop-off locations for residents to responsibly recycle their batteries. As a result, more than 114,000 pounds of batteries were collected statewide in 2016, a 187% percent increase from the previous year.
Canadian provinces with strong participation and commitment from retailers and municipalities fostered the rise of total collection results by 12% compared to 2015. Most notable results were in British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec, where Call2Recycle serves as the approved battery stewardship program. Quebec led the charge in battery collections with more than 2.4 million pounds collected, a nearly 20% increase. Manitoba also saw double digit growth over 2015, while British Colombia and Ontario each increased collections by 8%.
"We are extremely pleased with the collection results in Canada this year," says Joe Zenobio, Executive Director for Call2Recycle Canada, Inc. "This success is an affirmation that Canadians are becoming increasingly aware that batteries can and should be recycled and are doing their part by taking action. This gives us the momentum we need to make an even greater positive impact on the environment in 2017."
Call2Recycle has close to 30,000 collection locations across North America. More than 88% of residents in the U.S. and Canada live within 15 kilometers of one of Call2Recycle's public drop-off locations.