Battery waste scheme fundamentally flawed: new report
Our investigation into voluntary battery recycling under the failing battery stewardship scheme, B-cycle, identified many free rider producers evading responsibility for battery waste, and B-cycle participants, more often than not, failing to promote the scheme to their consumers.
We surveyed 58 retail stores across NSW, WA and Canberra. None of the locations visited included any of the B-cycle 2024 Battery Safety Campaign material. Only two out of the 47 battery brands sampled included any reference to in-store recycling.
Our campaigner Mark Zihrul commented earlier today "it appears B-cycle has a far smaller percentage of participating battery brands, and E-bike/E-scooter producers, than their self-promotion suggests."
Free riders continue to represent a big problem. Our online survey identified 155 brands of AAA Batteries on the Australian market, less than 12% were identifiable as B-cycle participants engaging in the scheme. Similarly, our online survey into light e-mobility devices identified 77 E-bike and E-scooter brands, only one was listed as a B-cycle participant on the B-cycle website.
B-cycle only covers a limited number of battery types, so their impact is similarly limited. Mark was recorded saying, “these are the inevitable failures when you rely on a voluntary industry scheme. Regulation is the only way to ensure market coverage. We are looking forward to the urgent work being undertaken by NSW and Queensland into a mandatory scheme for all batteries. They will be reporting at the end of the year.’’
“It’s particularly disappointing not to see any of the safety campaign material being used. This material was designed to warn consumers not to bin batteries and encouraged recycling. It was made freely available by B-cycle for all B-cycle participant retailers, included posters, brochures and facts sheets that could be printed and displayed on location with negligible costs for individual stores”. He continued, "it shows retailers aren’t interested in taking even low cost steps to promote recycling, and need to be formally compelled with regulations.”