button cell, conventional batteries and batteries are an integral part of everyday life. If they are used up, they often end up in the residual waste, But they don’t just contain valuable raw materials that can be recovered in recycling. They could also be dangerous, warns the Association of Austrian Waste Management Companies. The latter therefore commissioned the market researcher, the knowledge of the Austrians about batteries and analyze recycling. The result is not very pleasant.
Only 29 percent of those under 30 years of age even know that batteries can be recycled. Just as few young people know that they could hand over used batteries to dealers free of charge. And only 32 percent of this generation is concerned with battery disposal.
The results look completely different for those over 60: a large majority of them know about recycling of batteries modest. 72 percent of the elderly disposed of batteries also professionally, only one in three does this for the boys.
Lower Austrians as role models
The Lower Austrians perform best when analyzing the market agent survey by federal state. The Burgenlanders are also comparatively exemplary when it comes to battery disposal. The majority of them know that devices with lithium batteries must not be exposed to high temperatures and that there are collection points for old ones batteries gives.
Lithium batteries are in blinking children’s shoes as well as in greeting cards. Land in residual waste, they can ignite with the slightest damage – for example due to friction. According to the association Austria around 4,000 tons annually batteries However, only around 2,000 are sold and disposed of. The rest disappear into the trash. The EU has stipulated a collection quota of 45 percent since 2016, and from 2019 even 65 percent. The association wants to increase the collection rate to at least 75 percent and therefore calls for more information, especially among the young population.
Battery recycling companies collect the metals lithium, zinc and manganese from the batteries and sell them to industrial companies that need these raw materials.
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