CSIRO says lack of consumer awareness is ‘number one issue’ affecting recycling

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Australians have to boost their recycling of lithium-ion batteries, a new CSIRO report has found.

Consumers only recycle 2% of our lithium-ion batteries, and an estimated $813m to $3bn worth of valuable components is in landfill. The commonly-used rechargeable batteries are used in mobile phones, laptops, household appliances and, increasingly, electric vehicles.

The report found that a lack of consumer awareness was the “number one issue” affecting recycling.

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One of the report’s researchers, Dr Naomi Boxall, said this could be fixed by an advertising and public education campaign.

“What we’ve found from the industry survey is that consumers aren’t really aware of the environmental impact of just disposing their batteries in the bin,” she said.

“Most local governments have collection points and free e-waste or battery collection points. I think my local council collects once every three months. There are also independent points that are run by some scrap metal recyclers but it’s not very coordinated really.”

Australians create 3,300 tonnes of lithium-ion battery waste a year, and that figure grows by 20% every year. Lithium-ion batteries in landfill pose a significant fire and explosion risk, and leach toxic materials into the environment.



95% of a lithium-ion battery is recyclable, and some of the raw materials that can be recycled are not available in Australia – making them very valuable.

But while Australia has established schemes for recycling lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries, the report found there were none for lithium-ion. Compared with the 2% lithium-ion recycling rate, 98% of lead-acid batteries – which are used as standard car batteries – are recycled.

Boxall said this would likely improve with greater regulation.

“The example that everyone points to is the EU battery directive,

she said. “That set targets for manufacturers to actually take back what they were manufacturing. And a large part of that is product stewardship.”

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Under the Product Stewardship Act 2011, manufacturers of certain products are given the responsibility for the end life of the product. A mandatory scheme applies for e-waste, the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, which makes manufacturers or importers of electronics pay a certain amount to fund the recycling of their products.

Boxall said the report would help regulators add lithium-ion batteries to the mandatory scheme, which would significantly raise recycling rates.



“The federal government have done a really good job on developing the Product Stewardship Act in 2011,” she said. “That program for lithium-ion batteries is now being coordinated.”