Recycling your household batteries just got a whole lot easier

Starting from Monday 9 September, recycling your household batteries just got a whole lot easier! We're now collecting household batteries right from your kerbside for recycling. Residents just need to follow these simple steps:

1. Batteries:Veolia's collection team will collect the most common household batteries, including D, C, AA, AAA, AAAA (1.5-volt), A23 (12-volt), PP3 (9-volt), CR2032 (3-volt), and LR44 (1.5-volt).
2. How to recycle: Place your used batteries in a clear bag, like a freezer or sandwich bag, and simply place it on top of your black wheelie bin on collection day. Our new waste collection vehicles have special compartments designed just for these batteries, ensuring they're safely recycled.
3. Safety first: Please remember, batteries should never be placed inside your wheelie bin. Doing so can cause them to ignite during the waste compaction process, posing a significant fire hazard.
4. Exceptions: While we'll gladly collect most household batteries, there are some exceptions: Car/moped batteries, lithium-ion (Li) power tool batteries, and vapes, should continue to be taken to our household recycling centres at Newtown Road, Newbury, or Padworth. To schedule a visit, book an appointment online.

Councillor Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment and Highways at West Berkshire Council, said:

"We are very pleased to be able to start collecting household batteries from the kerbside supporting the Councils commitment to tackling the climate and ecological emergency we are all facing.

"This service is an easy and convenient way to recycle used batteries and increase our kerbside recycling. We are committed to improving recycling services and we continue to look at future opportunities to move more waste out of our black bins and into recycling routes at the kerbside."

Dave Matthews, General Manager at Veolia West Berkshire said: 

"Veolia is very pleased to be supporting West Berkshire Council with the expansion of household recycling collections to include batteries at the kerbside. This new service will make it easier for residents to recycle batteries safely, greatly decreasing the chance of fires in waste collection vehicles and at sorting facilities. This will have a huge impact on keeping the people that handle your waste out of harm's way whilst protecting the valuable materials residents work hard to separate for recycling."

For more information, please visit: www.westberks.gov.uk/hazardouswaste.

Please note this service is not available to residents that have a communal bin store.

_{Photo: Cllr Stuart Gourley (West Berkshire Council) and Ben Slater (Veolia Regional Director, Treatment South)}