recycling

EXCLUSIVE: Water set to drown lead's recycling reputation

EXCLUSIVE: An American firm has broken ground on the world’s first ‘green’ lead-acid recycling plant as it looks to eradicate smelting’s polluting reputation.

US start-up Aqua Metals is set to enter the commercial recycling industry with its AquaRefining™ technology which aims to replace conventional smelting with a water-based ‘greener’ alternative.

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Waste Pb-A revision could hit recycling targets

European battery recycling is set to be shaken up after the UK’s Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) re-classified the definition of ‘portable’ to include anything over 4Kg.

Two years after the revision was first mooted, and following a consultation this year, the current 4-10kg ‘grey area’ is due to be removed from the Government Guidance on the Waste Batteries Regulations 2009.

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ECOBAT increases battery collection in Germany

Ecobat Technologies, provider of closed-loop recycling of lead-acid batteries, has purchased a German battery collection division called Must GmbH. The acquisition of Must, based in Vienenburg, Lower Saxony, increases Ecobat’s presence across Germany.

90% of car batteries in Shanghai disposed of illegally

The Shanghai Environmental Protection Industry Association and Shanghai Service Federation have announced they are seeking ways to regulate the disposal of automotive batteries, according to the Shanghai Daily. The batteries, which include those used in cars and electric bikes, are generally lead-acid storage batteries.

Reclassification of portable batteries gives threshold to UK recyclers

Many batteries can be classed as industrial or portable under vague current classifications

The EU is to re-classify portable batteries with a single weight threshold of 3Kg to overcome discrepancies in portable and industrial battery classifications for recycling.

Recycling targets introduced in the UK in 2010 to increase recycling of portable batteries have been skewed by the inclusion of larger batteries. Collectors have included automotive and industrial lead-acid batteries in the targets, which bump up numbers.

The grey area surrounds the definition of a portable battery: anything over 10kg is industrial, under 4kg is considered portable but between these two figures producers can decide whether it is classed as portable or industrial.

This lack of clarity meant larger lead-acid batteries – that are already widely recycled – were included with the collections. In 2012, 3 000 tonnes of portable lead-acid batteries were on the market but 9 000 tonnes were reported as being collected as waste. The discrepancy of 6 000 tonnes means the recycling figures lose all credibility.

The EU has a portable battery-recycling target of 45% for 2016; to meet this in the UK will require double the current collection rate.

Batteries that are now classified as non-portable will continue to be recycled at exceptionally high rates in the UK, as in the rest of Europe.

Urban mining to recover valuable metals from discarded electronics

Lithium demand is booming due to to an explosion in tablets and smartphones. GTSO Resources is beginning to recover used lithium using ‘urban mining’ (or recycling) techniques.
"Lithium prices have already tripled, and no one expects them to level off anytime soon,” said GTSO CEO Paul Watson.
Electronic waste contains metal deposits 40 to 50 times richer than mined ores, up to 85% are lost to landfills. GTSO is planning operations to recover lithium, tungsten and other discarded materials.