“In the UK, 660 million batteries are bought each year. 95 percent of these are disposable – cumulatively that’s an enormous amount of batteries heading straight to landfill, releasing damaging chemicals into the environment. It’s wasteful and it’s unnecessary,” says Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns at WWF-UK. “The average person in the UK is living as though we have three planets worth of resources at our disposal, which is totally unsustainable. Rechargeable batteries are an easy environmental win – they have 28 times less potential impact on climate change than disposable batteries, and while using them won’t reduce your standard of living, it will hugely reduce your impact on the planet.”
The study found that for the same amount of energy produced, rechargeable batteries have:
Up to 23 TIMES less impact on non-renewable natural resources
Rechargeable batteries consume up to 23 times less non-renewable natural resources (fossil and mineral) than disposable batteries. This result can be explained by the much higher number of disposable batteries that have to be produced to provide the same amount of energy.
E.g. when you use rechargeable batteries to create 1kWh of energy, the impact on non-renewable natural resources is comparable to extracting 1kg of petroleum. Using disposable batteries is comparable to extracting 19kg of petroleum.
Up to 28 TIMES less impact on global warming (CO2)
Climate change means an increase in the average temperature of the earth’s surface caused by an increase in the greenhouse gas effect. Rechargeable batteries have up to 28 times less impact on climate warming than disposable batteries. This ratio can mainly be explained by the impact caused when manufacturing disposable batteries and distributing them (transportation in trucks and the related greenhouse gas emissions).
E.g. when you use rechargeable batteries to create 1kWh of energy, the impact on global warming is comparable to driving 16km by car. Using disposable batteries is comparable to driving 457km.
Up to 30 TIMES less impact on air pollution (ozone pollution)
Photochemical oxidation is responsible for peaks of ozone and toxic emissions. Rechargeable batteries have up to 30 times less impact on ozone pollution than disposable batteries.
E.g. when you use rechargeable batteries to create 1kWh of energy, the impact on air pollution is comparable to driving 73km by car. Using disposable batteries is comparable to driving 2,320km.
Up to 9 TIMES less impact on air acidification
The air acidification indicator consists of the accumulation of acidifying substances in the atmosphere particles. When it rains, these acidifying substances pollute ecosystems and soil. Rechargeable batteries have up to 9 times less impact on air acidification than disposable batteries.
E.g. when you use rechargeable batteries to create 1kWh of energy, the impact on air acidification is comparable to driving 2,122km by car. Using disposable batteries is comparable to driving 19,812km.
Up to 12 TIMES less impact on water pollution
The sedimentary eco-toxicity indicator evaluates potential toxic risks due to the emission of chemicals into aquatic ecosystems.
For a given quantity of available energy, rechargeable batteries have up to 12 times less potential toxic risks for fresh water and sea water sediments than disposable batteries.
E.g. when you use rechargeable batteries to create 1kWh of energy, the impact on water pollution is comparable to emitting 227mg of mercury into water. Using disposable batteries is comparable to emitting 2,731mg of mercury.
An additional benefit: reduced waste
The study drew up a list of raw materials used for each type of battery (disposable and rechargeable), taking into account all of the materials used. Using rechargeable batteries provides:
# real savings on packaging waste, since one pack of rechargeable batteries is needed to obtain 1kWh of energy compared with 93 packs of disposable batteries
# a way of reducing the amount of batteries that end up in landfill
Each year, around 660 million of household batteries are sold in the UK of which between 99% ends up in landfill.[1] The average household uses approx 21 batteries per year.[2] Changing to rechargeable batteries is not only greener for all the reasons stated above, but also cost effective.[3]
