The City of Kawartha Lakes and the City of Peterborough collectively prevented 12,211 kilograms of batteries from ending up in a landfill last year.
Both municipalities are receiving recognition for their environmental efforts from Call2Recycle Canada.
Call2Recycle, a not-for-profit organization for battery collection and recycling in Canada, has presented the City of Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes with “Leader in Sustainability” awards for 2023. Both communities participate in the Call2Recycle program.
In Peterborough, residents diverted 4,241 kilograms of batteries from the landfill in 2023 by using the municipality’s battery collection options, which target ensuring the environmentally responsible disposal of and reuse of the materials, a media release noted.
“Thanks to your contributions and support of valued partners like you, Call2Recycle increased collections by 32 per cent in 2023, diverting almost six million kilograms of batteries from landfill,” Call2Recycle stated in its award notification to the city.
Meanwhile, Kawartha Lakes collected 7,970 kilograms of household batteries through the Call2Recycle program in 2023, making it one of the program’s top-performing partners, noted a media release from Kawartha Lakes.
The Leader in Sustainability award is granted each year to organizations that display exceptional commitment to the environment and responsible battery management.
“Each year, Canadians recycle more and more of their used batteries with Call2Recycle, thanks to the ongoing partnership of organizations like the City of Kawartha Lakes,” said Joe Zenobio, president of Call2Recycle Canada.
“This partnership speaks to a real commitment to sustainability and makes a significant difference, The support we receive from Kawartha Lakes helps us achieve our mission of maximizing battery diversion from the waste stream, which in turn protects wildlife, the environment and our communities.”
Kawartha Lakes said its proud to be named a 2023 leader in sustainability.
“Recycling batteries properly and keeping them out of our landfills is very important to us from both an environmental and sustainability perspective,” said David Kerr, manager of environmental services for Kawartha Lakes. “A big thank you goes out to our residents for supporting our battery collection program and helping us work towards our goal of diverting all used batteries from our landfills.”
In Kawartha Lakes, the spring curbside battery collection occurs this month. The municipality will be collecting used batteries curbside from March 18 to 21 on residents’ regularly scheduled collection day.
To dispose of used batteries properly, Kawartha Lakes asks residents to place the batteries inside a clear, re-sealable bag and leave it on top of their fibre recycling materials. The bag of batteries should be at the curb by 7 a.m. For more information, read the municipality’s March 18 to 21 battery collection reminder.
In Peterborough, batteries can be dropped off for safe disposal at the household hazardous waste depot at 400 Pido Rd. and at these locations throughout the city:
- City Hall, 500 George St. N.
- Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer St.
- Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, 775 Brealey Dr.
- GreenUP Store, 378 Aylmer St.
- Kingan Home Hardware, 167 Simcoe St.
Businesses that are interested in becoming a City of Peterborough battery diversion drop-off location can contact Shivaan Burke, circular economy municipal services coordinator, at sburke@peterborough.ca for more information.
Call2Recycle is Canada’s leading organization for battery collection and recycling, fulfilling product stewardship obligations on behalf of over 400 members, including producers of single-use and rechargeable batteries.
Since its inception in 1997, Call2Recycle has diverted over 45 million kilograms of batteries from Canadian landfills.
Call2Recycle powers “Recycle Your Batteries, Canada!”, which is a household and e-bike battery collection and recycling program. Residents can check out recycleyourbatteries.ca for more information on battery recycling, including the 10,000 drop-off locations across Canada that accept batteries for recycling.
