‘Never bin a battery’ is the theme of a new NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) campaign that will run across New South Wales until next June.
The campaign’s goal is to educate people about properly handling and disposing of household batteries and products that have them embedded.
It is being run by the NSW EPA in response to the growing threat of battery fires.
NSW Fire and Rescue had to respond to more than 280 incidents caused by lithium-ion batteries this year so far, the agency says, while the waste industry says there have been 10,000 to 12,000 battery fires a year nationally.
NSW EPA Executive Director of Programs and Innovation Alexandra Geddes says that spreading the message that just one battery can spark a fire is critical.
“Everyone has a role to play in the safe use and disposal of batteries, which should never be disposed of in kerbside bins,” she says.
“This new campaign builds on the success of our pilot awareness campaign from June this year, which reached nearly 5 million people in NSW with a simple message – Never Bin A Battery.”
BATTERIES CAMPAIGN MESSAGE
Tape the ends of small, loose ones with clear, sticky tape.
Keep them safe in a ventilated, glass container.
Drop them off at B-cycle collection points like supermarkets and hardware stores.
Dispose of large ones (5-20 kg) for free at Community Recycling Centres (CRCs).
Drop off items with embedded batteries for free at any one of 34 CRCs participating in the embedded batteries recycling trial.
The agency said its research showed that a pilot campaign held in June was effective in influencing behaviour by creating a sense of urgency about battery disposal.
It claims nine out of 10 people who saw the ads acted in response as 74% said the ads taught them something new about battery disposal.
To inform the campaign, the EPA undertook behaviour change research to determine the issues preventing safe disposal.
The NSW EPA says research identified that the most critical issues to address are ignorance about what devices contain batteries and that they can’t be disposed of in household waste bins.
The next phase of the campaign will build this awareness further through radio, video and social media ads as well as bus stops and billboards to ensure the message reaches as many people as possible.
Search ‘Never Bin A Battery’ or visit www.epa.nsw.gov.au/batteries for more information and to find your nearest battery drop-off location.
