![]() ![]() Lithium is in strong demand due to its use inside electric car batteries, among other things. The money collected through B-cycle will help fund the collection, sorting and recycling of batteries to help recyclers make the industry profitable and therefore self-sustainable.Įnvirostream is a major recycler in this space.Įnvirostream is owned by Lithium Australia, which, going off its name, is particularly interested in the lithium that can be salvaged from batteries. This is the predicament facing Australia's looming battery waste stream. The cost of getting out the bits and selling them is greater than what we get for them." "But most consumer goods aren't like this. It's a valuable commodity and people want to pay for it. ![]() "So we don't need a scheme like this for scrap metal. "One of the areas where this happens automatically is scrap metal," UQ economist Professor John Quiggin says. It involves collecting a specific product, sorting it, scrapping the parts and then selling these commodities on the market at a high enough price to make a profit. Why do we even need a battery tax to encourage recycling? In B-cycle's case, it is completely voluntary for companies to join but Ms Chaplin says they have managed to sign up all the major players in the Australian market. Product stewardship schemes can be voluntary, co-regulatory or mandatory. "We believe that that level of funding will be sustainable." "I think it's a fair levy," Energizer's Australian business director David Pattinson says. One of the major signatories, Energizer, is declining to say if it will pass on the levy. Just 2 cents a battery may not sound huge, but in terms of profits, it is large enough that it could be an imposition. These batteries sell for anywhere from 50 cents to a few dollars. The benchmark of 24 grams was chosen because it is the weight of a typical AA battery. In B-cycle's case, it has convinced major companies including Eveready and Energizer to contribute 2 cents for every 24 grams of product they sell in Australia. These sorts of schemes require the companies that make these products – in this case, battery manufacturers – to financially contribute to the cost of dealing with their products' eventual waste streams. That act has already authorised many other national recycling schemes, including for e-waste and most famously for drink bottles. B-cycle is federally authorised under the Product Stewardship Act.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |