Ecosurety and Belmont Trading UK Limited kick-start first UK battery recycling plant

A partnership between leading resource efficiency specialist Ecosurety and Belmont Trading UK Limited, a global leader in secure and sustainable reuse and recycling solutions, will see the UK processing its own battery waste before the end of the year.  

The arrangement to process up to 20,000 tonnes of batteries per annum would cover the UK’s entire battery waste requirements, and effectively create the UK’s first functioning battery recycling plant. It means the UK can become self-sufficient in battery recycling as the country prepares to leave the EU.

The partnership has the potential to halt the UK’s shipment of batteries to Europe for recycling, therefore dramatically lowering the country’s waste export bill. Costs should also reduce for producers, due to the fact that export rates will no longer be included in the cost of complying with their battery obligations.

The batteries will be recycled at Belmont’s Kilwinning site, near Glasgow. Over £300,000 worth of equipment will be installed on site by September this year to enable the sorting and shredding of batteries to commence from November 2017.

A big win for producers

Damian Lambkin, head of innovation at Ecosurety, who helped instigate the project with Belmont Trading UK Limited, says, “This partnership means the UK could potentially stop sending batteries abroad for recycling, reducing the additional environmental impacts of shipping tens of thousands of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste across the sea to Northern Europe every year.

“It is also a big win for producers who will not have to cover the additional cost burdens of sending spent batteries overseas. This is proof that the UK waste and recycling industry can find its own innovative solutions to our waste resourcing issues through partnership working.”

Jeff Borrman, UK Managing Director at Belmont Trading UK Limited, says “This partnership dovetails with our core ethos to create ethical and responsible solutions that will make the world sustainable for future generations. We strongly believe that greater transparency between producers and reprocessors can revolutionise their relationships, a vision we know is 100 per cent shared by Ecosurety, and we look forward to helping domestic battery producers extract maximum economic value with minimum environmental impact by recycling in the UK.”

 

An existing battery recycling plant in Sweden. Image credit: Belmont Trading UK Limited

 

About Ecosurety

Founded in 2003, Ecosurety is the UK’s leading resource efficiency specialist with end to end services including batteries, packaging and WEEE compliance, training and waste collections.  With more than 1,000 customers including The Co-operative Group, Innocent and Virgin Media, Ecosurety is leading change in approaches to environmental compliance throughout the UK, driving ever greater efficiencies of resource use.

Committed to reducing the environmental impact of UK businesses while improving performance, Ecosurety is targeting to influence over one million tonnes of waste by 2020. For more information please visit www.ecosurety.com.

 

About Belmont Trading UK Limited

Belmont Trading UK Limited is the UK subsidiary of US-based Belmont Trading Company. Founded in 1988, Belmont Trading Company is a global leader in eMaterials lifecycle management. Belmont provides innovative, sustainable, and secure global asset management and value recovery solutions for batteries, mobile devices, telecom and computing equipment, and other electronic equipment. For more information please visit www.belmont-trading.com.

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