12. OPTIONS FOR BATTERY RECYCLING RR 8703

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1 12. OPTIONS FOR BATTERY RECYCLING RR 8703 Officer responsible Waste Manager Author David Harris Corporate Plan Output: Solid Waste The purpose of this report is to inform the Councillors of options for disposing of or recycling batteries. The report will not cover lead acid batteries which are already being commercially collected and recycled in Wellington. BACKGROUND Over recent years there has been an international trend towards using increased quantities of batteries for home and work applications. Fortunately, partly due to overseas regulations and partly due to advances in battery technology, the use of toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium, in batteries has been decreasing. In the USA and some European countries the use of mercury in all batteries has been banned or is being phased out. This has resulted in the amount of mercury in locally available batteries decreasing to an insignificant amount. There has also been a trend toward the use of rechargeable (or secondary) batteries and this has reduced the amount of waste batteries requiring disposal. Unfortunately about 80% of the rechargeable batteries are composed of nickel cadmium (known as Ni-Cd). Cadmium is a known carcinogen and it is important to ensure Ni-Cd batteries are disposed of correctly. As battery technology continues to improve nickel metal hydride batteries and lithium ion batteries are slowly replacing Ni-Cd batteries for use in cellular and cordless phones, camcorders, portable power tools and computers. However Ni-Cd batteries are still cheaper and likely to be around for some time to come. A summary of the types of batteries, their composition, key usage and characteristics is included in the attachment. CURRENT SITUATION While there is no local information available on total quantities of batteries requiring disposal, overseas studies have indicated that a figure of 0.4 kg per capita per year would be likely. For Christchurch City this equates to 120 tonnes per annum of batteries and of these it is estimated 8%, roughly 10 tonnes, would be Ni-Cd. There would be insignificant quantities, less than 100kg in total, of silver oxide, mercuric oxide or lithium batteries, leaving about 110 tonnes of alkaline manganese or zinc carbon batteries which do not constitute a disposal hazard. EFFECT OF NICKEL CADMIUM BATTERIES ON LANDFILL When heavy metals are co-disposed with normal refuse in a landfill, normal landfill processes tend to stabilise the heavy metal ions so they be immobilised in the landfill or soils under the landfill and are not easily leached out into the environment. Tests on leachate from the Burwood landfill have shown there are only minute traces of cadmium in the leachate.

2 Only if the chemistry of the landfill was to change significantly and the ph of landfill was lowered, ie become more acidic, would there be a chance of heavy metals becoming mobile again. To ensure this does not happen, all potentially hazardous waste, which includes any acid wastes, is analysed and treated, treatment including neutralisation, before being disposed of. At Burwood landfill the type, quantity and composition of special wastes is recorded before it is buried and its location recorded so incompatible wastes are not dumped in the same area. OPTIONS FOR MINIMISATION OF BATTERY WASTE There are a number of ways to reduce quantities and environmental effects of battery waste. Education programmes are required to: Explain the benefits of using rechargeable batteries instead of single use batteries. Explain the benefits of using batteries with higher energy content, such as alkaline or lithium batteries, rather than zinc carbon batteries. Explain the correct method of charging and using Ni-Cd batteries and therefore extending their useful life. Encourage the use of those types of batteries which have lower heavy metal contents, such as the benefit of nickel metal hydride over nickel cadmium. OPTIONS FOR RECYCLING BATTERY WASTE: At present there are no facilities for recycling batteries, other than lead acid batteries, in New Zealand. The high cost of recycling plants and the relatively small quantities of batteries would make it impractical to set up a plant in New Zealand. Of all the battery types commonly used in New Zealand the only one that presents a potential disposal problem would be the Ni-Cd batteries and the potential for environmental effects from these is small. However it is technically possible to collect Ni-Cd batteries and have them exported to a plant in France for recycling. Tredi New Zealand Limited has now set up a programme for the collection, sorting, and shipping of Ni-Cd batteries for recycling by S.N.A.M. (Societe Nouvelle D Affinage des Metaux) in France. Tredi New Zealand Limited is an Auckland based company specialising in the management of hazardous wastes and who, in conjunction with the NZ Ministry of Health PCB program, have been collecting and transporting PCBs to France for disposal since S.N.A.M. is one of only a small number of plants in Europe that can recycle Ni-Cd batteries and appears to be the only plant that extracts the cadmium in a form that can be reused in the battery industry. A number of other plants remove the cadmium in a form that cannot be used and can only put the cadmium into long term storage.

3 Tredi have arranged for Julians Electrical & Energy Conservation to carry out the collection and sorting of the batteries within New Zealand. Julians Electrical & Energy Conservation is a contractor based in Inglewood who has also been involved in the collection of PCBs for Tredi New Zealand Limited. Julians have quoted a rate of $8.95 per kilogram to collect sort and despatch Ni-Cd, mercury and lead batteries. This rate is subject to change depending on the quantities handled. Julians anticipate that batteries would be stored at local collection points and they will do a nation-wide collection at approximately six-month intervals. It is understood that at this time the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) is the only local authority that has entered into a contract for a Ni-Cd collection. The ARC will collect the batteries as part of a household hazardous waste collection/drop-off system. Details of their proposed hazardous waste collection/drop-off scheme are still not available as some safety aspects have not yet been finalised. Julians have also indicated that they negotiating with a number of private companies who are looking at options for recycling Ni-Cd batteries. PROPOSALS The Council has a number of options it could adopt in regard to batteries. From the information available it is only Ni-Cd batteries that have the potential to cause adverse environmental effects if landfilled. All other batteries are either non-hazardous or are such small quantities any environmental effects would be insignificant. Even Ni-Cds are unlikely to cause any significant adverse effects provided they are dispersed through normal refuse as the cadmium would tend to be immobilised by normal landfill processes. Options for dealing with Ni-Cd batteries would be: Do nothing and accept that batteries are unlikely to cause significant adverse effects in the landfill. Collect Ni-Cd batteries and store them until cheaper ways of recycling become available. Collect Ni-Cd batteries and encapsulate them in concrete blocks prior to landfilling. Collect Ni-Cd batteries and arrange for them to be recycled through a company like Tredi New Zealand (at significant cost see below). While the option of doing nothing and accepting a minor risk would probably be a reasonable one, increasing public environmental concern may make it desirable to avoid dumping the batteries. The option for collecting and either storing or concrete encapsulating Ni-Cds is not recommended as it merely concentrates the batteries in a small area and creates a greater potential for a major pollution incident.

4 If batteries are to be collected and recycled there are a number of ways this can be done: A fully subsidised Ni-Cd drop off collection for household batteries funded out of rates or waste minimisation fees. A collection of commercial Ni-Cd either fully or partially subsidised by rates or the waste minimisation fee. Collect Ni-Cd batteries as part of the kerbside recycling collection. No Council collection but information passed on to individuals or business as to where they can recycle Ni-Cd batteries. Some form of combination of the above. At present it is difficult predict what percentage of Ni-Cd batteries would recycled in any of the above options. If businesses or individuals had to meet the full cost of recycling Ni-Cd batteries, it is doubtful that many would do so unless disposal of Ni-Cd batteries in the landfill was banned. If a ban was imposed it would be very difficult to enforce as batteries would be very easy to conceal in other wastes. If all Ni-Cd batteries were recycled it is estimated the total cost of collecting and shipping Christchurch batteries would in the order of $100,000 dollars a year. If the Council operated a collection/drop-off and recycling programme for domestic batteries it is possible that up to 20% of Ni-Cds would be collected putting the disposal cost at around $20,000 per year. Alternatively the Ni-Cd batteries could be collected as part of the kerbside recycling operation. Because of the difficulty in identifying some Ni-Cd batteries it would be necessary to collect all rechargeable batteries and have them sorted by trained staff. It is also possible that large numbers of non-rechargeable batteries could be put out in the collection. Methods for and costs of kerbside battery collection would have to be worked through with Onyx and the RMF. However it must be recognised that no information on operating Ni-Cd recycling collection schemes in New Zealand is available and any participation rates are only a best guess. In conjunction with any recycling scheme for batteries a publicity campaign, using City Scene, newspapers and radio, should be run to highlight the benefits of adopting correct procedures for recharging Ni-Cd batteries. Commercial users would also be encouraged to recycle Ni-Cd batteries, through commercial recyclers. The Council also has the option of subsidising commercial battery recycling through the waste minimisation fees.

5 SUMMARY It is estimated that there are 120 tonnes of batteries landfilled in Christchurch each year. Only the Ni-Cd batteries pose a significant threat to the landfill leachate. Of the 120 tonnes of batteries around 10 tonnes are Ni-Cd. Two viable options emerge for dealing with Ni-Cd batteries. Either continue to co-dispose them in the landfill (where the risk is very low) or collect them for recycling overseas. The latter could cost around $100,000 per year. It is suggested a feasibility study of kerbside collection of Ni-Cd batteries be undertaken. It is also suggested that up to $5,000 be budgeted in the 1999/2000 year for a campaign to promote correct use and disposal of Ni-Cd batteries. Recommendation: 1. That a report be prepared on the feasibility of collecting Ni-Cd batteries as part of the kerbside recycling collection. 2. That an additional $5,000 be budgeted in the 1999/2000 to promote the correct usage and disposal of batteries. Chairman s Recommendation: That the economics of a kerbside collection of rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries be investigated.