Batteries can be safely and conveniently recycled at a new outdoor recycling container in Aurora's Town Park.
The Town of Aurora pilot program is part of a partnership with Environmental 360 Solutions (E360S), a company headquartered in Aurora, which designed the containers. The company also recycles the batteries it collects at its plant in Port Colborne.
The steel drum container is designed to withstand high heat and keep water out, according to Andrew Horseman, vice-president of E360S, at an unveiling in the park today.
The bins also have cellular sensors that monitor how full the container gets, as well temperature, which if it exceeds a certain level, will release a fire suppressant within the container.
“Battery collection, there’s been a number of high-profile incidents recently, one in the City of Montreal, with lithium-ion batteries,” said Horseman. “We’ve run these (indoor) containers for 25 years, we’ve never had a major thermal incident.”
Sam Santucci, mechanical designer of the new containers, said the design was deliberately chosen to evoke the image of a typical, double-A battery, albeit a neon green one.
“Battery recycling has been around a long time but not many people know about it,” said Santucci, noting indoor containers often go unnoticed.
“They’re not really in spots where you see them a lot, and that’s because they take up floor space in a store. And to a store, floor space is money, so they’re going to put them in the least valuable spot in the store.”
Making the containers convenient was a priority, added Horseman.
“If you make it easy, people are going to do it,” he said. “What we to do is make sure that all the batteries, the scrap batteries that are being generated, are coming out of that waste stream, and going into a responsible, recycling solution.”
“We are proud to be at the forefront of environmental stewardship in York Region,” Mayor Tom Mrakas said in a news release. “This new outdoor battery collection container not only provides our residents with a convenient way to recycle their batteries, but also showcases our commitment to innovative and sustainable solutions.”
The battery recycling containers will be located near the washroom pavilion in Town Park.
