Environmental groups press Rayovac to recycle their batteries

WASHINGTON (Scrap Monster) : A non-profit group- Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) along with 26 other organizations across the country has urged battery manufacturer Rayovac to initiate recycling of their batteries as it does in Europe.

TCE had asked Rayovac earlier in May to take necessary actions to accept the used batteries for recycling. Rayovac had then refused to join the ‘Corporation of Battery Recycling’ along with competitors such as Duracell, Energizer and Panasonic which takes back batteries from customers for recycling. Instead, Rayovac asked its customers to dispose the batteries in household trash.

TCE is now joined in its campaign against Rayovac by organizations from 11 states, including Zero Waste Detroit; Eco-Cycle, based in Boulder, CO; the Electronics Takeback Coalition, based in San Francisco; and four other groups based in Wisconsin. The groups claim that Rayovac’s single use batteries fall into the ‘toxic’ category of materials which should bot be disposed off.

The organizations expressed hope that their campaign would lead to Rayovac act upon to set goals for collection and recycling of their batteries at the earliest.

The Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) is a grassroots advocacy 501(c)(4) Non-profit organization that works on health and environmental issues in the state of Texas in the United States. TCE has a special focus on electronic waste and its negative effects in Texas, the U.S. and worldwide, and is a leading member of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition.