Would you like to know something cool about car batteries? Once they give up on you, they can be recycled and used to produce more batteries. What this does is close the loop on a product that, if disposed of incorrectly, causes detrimental effects to the environment.
Each battery differs when it comes to what’s inside, this is largely because they’re used for different cars, trucks or commercial vehicles.
When it comes to their impact on the environment though, there’s no difference. Some of the biggest impacts include:
- Batteries disposed of incorrectly end up in landfills. As the casing corrodes, the chemicals seep out and leach into the soil, which eventually makes its way into our water streams, causing harm to the water supply.
- The lithium contained in certain batteries ends up in landfills, it can create a chemical reaction and fire that burns underground for years. This releases toxins into the air that can affect the health of people who live nearby.
- Metals such as cadmium and nickel, core components of car batteries are carcinogenic and cause cancer in living tissue. This happens when batteries are crushed under the weight of a landfill and make their way to the atmosphere.
The simple way to avoid your battery causing harm to people, animals and the environment is by making sure your old car batteries are recycled correctly like they do at the battery recycling plant built by First National Battery in Benoni.
- The plant treats the various materials in an environmentally friendly manner.
- Each battery goes through a process involving the smelting of lead, treatment of the acid contained in batteries and a blending kettle that produces specialised alloys which controls environmental emissions.
- The packaging and all materials are repurposed to give a new lease on your life to old batteries.
In the consumption of soft drinks, milk and products packaged in plastic, there is a certain degree of recyclability. Be it cans, boxes or bottles, these items are accompanied by recyclable packaging, however how much of your car battery can be recycled? The good news is 95 per cent of a battery is recyclable, which means every recycled battery helps to keep the environment safe.
The next time you replace your battery, have it recycled by South Africa’s trusted battery specialists, Batter Centre.
For more information, visit: https://www.batterycentre.co.za/
Giveaway
Win a brand new Raylite battery from Battery Centre, with fitment included. If you don’t need one right now, that’s okay … your voucher, valued at R2500, will be valid for a year. Simply like the post on our Facebook page, tag a friend in the comments section and you’ll be in the draw. Competition closes on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
