A national campaign undertaken last year by Ecosurety and environmental charity Hubbub to boost UK battery recycling has been shortlisted for a prestigious National Recycling Award.
The #BringBackHeavyMetal campaign, designed to encourage more consumers to recycle unwanted domestic batteries, has made it onto the shortlist for Campaign of the Year (Private/Commercial Category). For the past two years the UK has failed to hit its battery recycling targets.
The campaign used social media, video and eye-catching graphics plus the idea of a ‘battery amnesty’, whereby consumers could return their used batteries to a host of retailers. Asda, B&Q, Currys PC World, The Entertainer, M&S and Morrisons agreed to set up collection points, to help the UK deal with an estimated 180m used or damaged batteries around the home.
The result was a 64% increase in collections by one national retailer alone.
James Piper, managing director at Ecosurety says, “It’s a huge honour to be shortlisted for a National Recycling Award along with Hubbub. The results from #BringBackHeavyMetal 2017 show that the disconnect between consumers and the waste and recycling industry can be bridged by innovative thinking in a way that has a quantifiable impact on UK recycling.”
A second campaign is being planned for 2018. Retailers and brands interested in taking part can contact Stephanie Housty shousty@ecosurety.com
Stéphanie Housty
Head of Marketing & Sustainability
Stéphanie joined Ecosurety as marketing manager in 2015 after 15 years performing operational and strategical marketing roles in both B2C and B2B global businesses. In addition to shaping the marketing and communication strategy, she is in charge of moving up the dial on Ecosurety’s social and environmental impact by driving the sustainability strategy.
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The quarterly data reveals a total of 25,511 tonnes of portable batteries have so far been placed on the UK market this year, 14,738 of which have been collected and sent for treatment to Approved Battery Treatment Operators (ABTOs) or Exporters (ABEs).
Read More >>Provisional figures, published by the Environment Agency on 28 February, highlight the UK’s failure meet its 45% collection target for household batteries in 2017 – a shortfall of 0.12%.
Read More >>Campaign partner Currys PCWorld to collect used household batteries through network of home installation teams to help combat low recycling rates
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