Waste disposal and rubbish removal in Haymarket constitutes a large part of the City of Sydney’s council responsibility; however responsible waste disposal is very important for Haymarket residents to consider. It is the responsibility of each and every resident to be mindful about the waste they generate and how they dispose of it.

Batteries of all kinds are amongst those items most discarded with general waste that should never be disposed of as such. Batteries contain toxic chemicals including cadmium, mercury and zinc; these leech into the environment and cause soil and water pollution, harm to plants, wildlife, our water supply, and ultimately humans as well.

Battery recycling initiatives by the City of Sydney and other local councils aim to minimise the vast number of batteries that are discarded into landfill.

Most batteries can be recycled:

• Ninety percent of lead-acid vehicle batteries can be recycled; these include batteries for cars, motorcycles, golf carts, and batteries for industrial equipment. The recycling process for these involves grinding, neutralising the acid, and separating other materials from the lead. The materials recovered are used in a number of ways, including the manufacture of new batteries. Materials other than lead extracted include plastic and sulphuric acid.

• Button cells are used in small portable electronics including watches, digital thermometers, laser pointers, book lights, cardiac pacemakers, hearing aids, and pocket calculators. These are small and extremely dangerous if found by small children as they are easily (and invitingly) ingested and can cause death. These may be silver cells, mercury batteries, zinc-air batteries, lithium, or alkaline batteries. Recycling involves mechanical separation and extraction of zinc/manganese, mercury, steel, paper and plastic.

• Lithium ion batteries are recycled to release copper, aluminium, cobalt, nickel, and other components.

Australia has a very poor record worldwide for battery recycling – we are not even in the top ten nations for recycling batteries. Surely we can do better?

AA Adonis rubbish removals will come to your location, including for rubbish removal in Haymarket, and collect all manner of non-hazardous rubbish for responsible disposal, including recycling where possible. Call us today.