To be surprise, not everyone is aware of the significance of recycling household batteries, such as notebook battery, rechargeable battery, and mobile phone battery and so on, and many may not even be aware that they can be recycled. This is set to change however, with the European Union’s Battery Directive imposing stricter guidelines on the recycling of batteries.

Most consumers of batteries are aware that batteries contain chemicals that are potentially harmful to humans, such as mercury, cadmium and lead. While some of these, such as lead, are being phased out in battery manufacture, there are still some around and having these enter landfill can cause serious consequences to human health years down the track, not to mention the impact on biodiversity and ecosystems.

Cadmium, for example, which is still used in many nickel-cadmium rechargeable type batteries, is a known carcinogen and is highly toxic to humans and the environment. Mercury is known to be extremely toxic and can cause acute and chronic poisoning. Lead is another poisonous metal that can affect young children’s brain development and cause serious blood and brain disorders.

The Battery Directive stipulates guidelines for the chemical content of batteries, to reduce the use of hazardous substances such as lead and mercury in batteries into the future. The Directive is not legislation, but a guideline for participating nations – however it can impose penalties on countries if they do not follow the guidelines.

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