PR 1034
HAMPSHIRE POWERED UP FOR BATTERY RECYCLING
Hampshire householders will be able to recycle used household batteries for the first time from the beginning of April, as the hazardous household waste service is extended at nine household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in Hampshire.
Hampshire County Council is one of the first counties in the UK to offer a battery recycling service aimed at reducing the threat to the environment of throwing away batteries with normal household waste. This new collection service means that batteries can now be taken away for specialist and safe disposal.
There are seven County Council HWRCs licensed to receive hazardous household waste - in Andover, Basingstoke, Bordon, Farnborough, Marchwood, Netley and Winchester, plus one each in Southampton and Portsmouth. In addition to batteries, all nine centres will also now be able to accept fluorescent light tubes - usually found in kitchens and bathrooms - and compact fluorescent lamps. These will be collected in secure lockable containers and then taken away to have the parts separated and recycled accordingly. Batteries will be collected in bright red wheel bins.
Hampshire's recycling performance is in the top 5% of all councils in the country, with over 25% of all household waste in the county recycled or composted. Details of the Hampshire's recycling performance, targets and plans for the future can be found in the new Spring edition of Hampshire Now in the special pull-out section How well are we doing? Hampshire Now is currently being delivered to all households in Hampshire.
Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Environment, Councillor Keith Estlin, said: " This new service is yet another endorsement of Hampshire's innovative waste strategy to meet the Government's target of a 40% recycling rate by 2006. Collections of household batteries and fluorescent tubes are very rare indeed in this country, and I'm sure that Hampshire residents will respond as positively as ever to this extremely worthwhile service."
The seven County Council licensed HWRCs are open seven days a week, including bank holidays, from 8am - 7pm (1 April to 30 September) and 8am - 4.30pm (1 October to 31 March), and also accept amateur garden chemicals, cleaning products and other potentially dangerous household products. Anyone disposing of hazardous waste should contact site staff on arrival in order to be directed to the right container.
To find out where your local HWRC is, call 01962 847021 or go to www.integra.org.uk. For more information about the service provided in Portsmouth call 023 9283 4092, and for the service in Southampton call
023 8033 8319.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Alison Taylor on 01962 847666
06/4/04
Notes to Editors
The new battery and fluorescent light recycling service has been introduced by Hampshire County Council as a partner in Project Integra, Hampshire's waste management partnership.