Saskatchewan 4-H group recycles batteries

Advanced Battery Technology,  Apr 2003  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

For three years, the 27 members of Kelvington 4-H Beef Club in Saskatchewan, Canada, have been collecting and storing used vehicle and implement batteries for pickup and recycling, reports The Western Producer, a Saskatchewan newspaper.

Twice a year, members of the group travel from farm to farm to collect old batteries and have gathered as many as 450 batteries in one day.

"As well as performing a service to the community and the environment, the project has been a successful fundraiser," says Greg Niezgoda, one of the club leaders. "Last year alone, our revenue was $3,100."

So far the group has handled about 3,500 batteries, representing 816kg of lead, 12,113 liters of acid, and 907kg of plastic, says Brian Collins, sales co-ordinator for the company that recycles the batteries.

Collected batteries are stored at the East Central Coop and then delivered to a Pennsylvania recycling plant. There they are disassembled in a ventilated battery breaker to separate the lead, plastic, and acid. All three components are processed and reused in new batteries.

Copyright Seven Mountains Scientific, Inc. Apr 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved