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Recycle your batteries

“What do I do with my used hearing aid batteries?”

“Is it safe to throw out hearing aid batteries in the rubbish?”

“Where can I recycle my hearing aid batteries?”

These are questions we are frequently asked by customers wanting to know what to do with their used hearing aid batteries.

 

Here is some good news!

HABEX has joined the SITA Australia Battery Recycling Program.

We have purchased battery recycling containers to place used hearing aid batteries customers have returned to us. These containers do not come cheap as this covers the cost of shipping and processing of used batteries. We bear the cost of these containers as part of HABEX’s environmental responsibility.

Simply post your used hearing aid batteries to us and we will put them in the battery recycling container.

Send your used hearing aid batteries to:

   HABEX
   PO Box 457
   Northbridge  NSW  1560

Batteries must be packaged to minimise the risk of short circuit. It is recommended the batteries be placed back in their original packaging.

Send your package as a parcel and clearly write Road Transport Only (preferably in red) on the package next to the delivery address.

Once the battery recycling container is full, it is collected and couriered to a specialist e-waste battery recycling facility where the batteries will be sorted into their respective technologies. Rechargeable batteries are recycled within Australia and single-use batteries are shipped, pursuant to Environment Australia permits, to approved overseas recycling centres.

 

Why recycle hearing aid batteries?

The zinc in zinc-air batteries is a hazardous component. So is the mercury or mercuric oxide if the battery contains mercury. The danger in throwing them in the garbage when used up, is that when the batteries are dumped at a landfill, over time, the decaying of the batteries could release harmful chemicals into the environment.

While you are not required by law to recycle hearing aid batteries, recycling them is strongly encouraged.

 

Some facts about recycling …

In Australia, about 350 million batteries are purchased every year.

Over two-thirds of batteries disposed are sent to landfill, making them the most common form of hazardous waste.

Only 6% (by weight) of handheld batteries are currently being recovered for reprocessing.

Metals found in batteries, such as cadmium, nickel, mercury and lead are toxic and endanger the health of wildlife, humans and our environment if not managed properly.

The metallic components in rechargeable batteries can all be recycled. Precious metals found in single-use batteries such as silver, iron and mercury can also be recovered.

Zinc-air and alkaline batteries can be reprocessed using a number of different methods, which include smelting and other thermal-metallurgical processes to recover the metal content (particularly zinc).

The nickel from batteries can be recycled and used to produce stainless steel.

Other materials recycled from batteries can be used to produce new batteries, fertilisers, rubbish bins and plant pots.