Too many drivers are disregarding environmental concerns-and the law-by disposing of old car batteries in household waste, according to battery charging firm, CTEK.
A lack of knowledge of how and where to dispose of car batteries is leading motorists to by-pass the clean-up process where dangerous chemicals and metal including lead are recovered from the battery. Car batteries are treated as hazardous waste and by law must not be disposed of via ordinary household waste.
CTEK advises that motorists with used car batteries to dispose of should check out their local garages; as many of them will now take dead batteries and dispose of them in the correct manner. Alternatively, shops such as Halfords also accept old car batteries, again subsequently disposing of them correctly. Additionally, the website recyclenow.com, will be able to give the location of the nearest battery recycling centre once a postcode is entered on the site.
Jan-Ulf Söderberg, Head of Brand and Marketing at CTEK commented: "Disposing of car batteries correctly can be tricky under current legislation as they cannot be sent to landfill sites without going through a long clean-up process. However, there are companies and businesses that will be able to take the battery and recycle it safely, and legally."
The recycling process involves dissecting the battery into its various components of lead or silver, acid, the outer covering plastic and also the distilled water. A crusher takes care of the breakdown then the most valuable parts and the lead or silver are extracted. The lead is melted, acid neutralised and water the water is purified.
CTEK designs and manufactures a range of smart battery chargers that will extend the life of a battery, sometimes by as much as 300 per cent. Its award winning range of chargers are perfect for home battery maintenance but, when the time comes for a battery to be replaced, with all of the options available, there’s no excuse for it not to be done in the correct manner. For more information regarding CTEK or its range of battery chargers and accessories, please visit www.ctek.com.
