Every Austrian household owns an average of ten of them. We are talking about lithium-based rechargeable batteries and batteries, which are found in smartphones, hand blenders and e-cigarettes, among other things. Many of these devices end up in the residual waste, but the batteries and rechargeable batteries would have to be disposed of separately at collection points or returned to retailers. However, this only happens in half of all cases. This means that 1.4 million pieces end up in the residual waste every year, as the Board of Trustees for Road Safety (KFV) and the Association of Austrian Waste Management Companies (VOEB) announced on Wednesday at a press conference in Vienna.
The organizations therefore want an Austria-wide deposit system that should increase the collection rate from the current 45 percent to 75 percent by 2030. Because incorrect disposal not only leads to the loss of raw materials such as aluminum, cobalt and lithium, the slightest friction can ignite lithium batteries and cause dangerous fires in private households or in waste disposal companies.
Source: Nachrichten
