North American Battery Recycling Leader's Collections Still Growing
"Since we measure our success by weight, this latest year of growth is even more impressive given that consumer batteries are getting smaller, lighter, and lasting longer than in previous years,” said Carl Smith, CEO and president of Call2Recycle, Inc.
Call2Recycle, Inc., which bills itself as "North America's first and largest consumer battery stewardship organization," announced Jan. 20 that it increased its total weight of material collected in 2014 for the 18th consecutive year. The company, with U.S. headquarters in Atlanta and Canadian headquarters in Toronto, recycled nearly 12 million pounds of batteries and cell phones in North America during the year; the company's collection effort began in 1996, and last year its total surpassed 100 million pounds.
The company's announcement said Canadians recycled more batteries in the first 10 months of 2014 than in all of 2013, with the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec showing double-digit collection growth year over year. In the United States, California topped all other states with more than 1 million pounds of batteries recycled during the year.
"Since we measure our success by weight, this latest year of growth is even more impressive given that consumer batteries are getting smaller, lighter, and lasting longer than in previous years,” said Carl Smith, CEO and president of Call2Recycle, Inc. "Thanks to the continued dedication of our industry stewards and collection partners, these overall gains give us the momentum we need to make an even greater positive impact on the environment in 2015."
According to the company, approximately 90 percent of U.S. and Canadian residents live within 10 miles of one of Call2Recycle's 34,000 drop-off locations.