March 28, 2019: Tens of thousands of used lead vehicle batteries in remote areas of Canada are being collected and taken to recycling centres in a joint venture between the Responsible Battery Coalition and the Canadian Battery Association, the RBC announced on March 19.
The project, which has begun in the state of Manitoba, brings together RBC’s Million Battery Challenge and CBA’s Battery Stewardship Programme in a move that aims to retrieve and recycle used car batteries from far-flung regions in the country. The programme will help native Canadians, known as first nation communities, protect their local environments by properly managing the collection and recycling of used car batteries.
So far, 11 out of 63 first nation communities in Manitoba have pledged to participate in the programme, where since 2010 the CBA has retrieved and recycled approximately 2.6 million used vehicle batteries.
CBA executive director Colin McKean said: “With 63 first nations in Manitoba alone, we believe there are potentially 10s of thousands of used vehicle batteries in these communities that need to be isolated from the environment and transported to recycling centers. It’s great that most of the 11 communities signing pledges in Manitoba are among the most challenging, the ones that will require the most help from us.
“We have a lot of vehicle batteries going into these communities, so we want to do everything we can to help them protect their local environment.”
The executive director of the RBC, Steve Christensen, said: “The opportunity to bring additional educational, transportation and recycling resources from the US to Canada’s programme makes good sense for everyone.”
The Responsible Battery Coalition is an association of companies, academics and organizations that was formed in 2017 to responsibly manage the production, transport, use, recycling and resource recovery of energy storage devices.
The Canadian Battery Association was established in 1970 by Canadian manufacturers of lead batteries and represents the lead-acid industry in Canada, providing information about the responsible management of energy storage devices.
