EMRC has developed a school battery recycling program to capture batteries from the household waste stream; ensuring disposal does not damage our sensitive environment.

Over 60 schools in Perth's Eastern Region belong to EMRC's battery recycling program. Students bring in old household batteries, and the EMRC coordinates the collection and recycling of the batteries. The program is offered free of charge to schools located in EMRC's Council areas of Bassendean, Bayswater, Belmont, Kalamunda, Mundaring and Swan.
 

Educating students about batteries!

Over 60 schools in Perth’s Eastern Region belong to the EMRC battery recycling program. Students bring in old batteries from home, the EMRC then collects and transports the batteries to the recycling centre.

The program is offered free of charge to schools located in the EMRC council areas of Bassendean, Bayswater, Belmont, Kalamunda, Mundaring and Swan.

The school battery recycling program involves an interschool competition, which has proven to be a strong motivator in encouraging school battery collection.

The competition program may be structured in a way that is suitable for your individual school; however, each new school is given a start up kit. One teacher and class or the school's environmental committee can be nominated as the "Leaders of the Program", they will be in charge of promoting the battery collection service and organising collections.

EMRC's waste education officer is available for school talks at assembly, please call (08) 9424 2271 to arrange a time.
 

New schools joining the program will be provided with the following materials:

• Plastic battery collection containers - 1 container per classroom.
• 1 x 50L collection bin - to be used as the main collection bin for the school and kept in a visible and easily accessible location (ie. front reception or library). Plastic containers can be emptied into this bin for collection.
• Certificates & R-Gang prizes, puzzles and word finders - to be used as incentives for classrooms that collect the most batteries by weight each term.
   

If you are a primary school in Perth's Eastern Region and are interested in this program, please download and print the registration form provided below and fax it back to EMRC's Waste Education Officer on (08) 9277 7598 or scan and email through to jennifer.bennett@emrc.org.au

For schools which do not fall in Perth's Eastern Region please call your local Council or regional Council to see if a similar program is running.

New and existing schools have the opportunity to have an EMRC waste education officer give a brief talk to your school about the battery collection program and its benefits to the environment. Students and teachers will learn more about what happens to their recycled batteries.

Call EMRC's Waste Education Officer on (08) 9424 2271.

Each school must call EMRC on (08) 9424 2271 to confirm their batteries need collecting. If the bag inside your battery bin is 3/4 full contact EMRC to arrange for your batteries to be collected. Our battery collector (Wade) will come to your school to pick up used batteries.

Please note:

• Put smaller batteries such as watch batteries and AAA batteries into a separate bag or container before placing them into your battery bin.
• Please ensure that your battery bin is placed next to the front door during the collection week to minimise disruption to your class or office area.
• Place mobile phones and their batteries in a separate bag for collection and recycling through the Mobile Muster program.
   

The School Dry-Cell Battery Collection Program has direct links to the following Learning Area Outcomes from the Curriculum Framework:

• Anzac Terrace Primary School
• Ashfield Primary School
• Arbor Grove Primary School
• Bayswater Primary School
• Beechboro Christian School
• Belmont Primary School
• Bullsbrook District School (Primary Campus)
• Casa Mia Montessori
• Carmel Adventist Primary School
• Chidlow Primary School
• Clayton View Primary School
• Darlington Primary School
• Dawson Park Primary School
• East Beechboro Primary School
• Eden Hill Primary School
• Glen Forrest Primary School
• Gooseberry Hill Primary School
• Greenmount Primary School
• Guilford Primary School
• Guildford Grammar Prep School
• Hampton Park Primary School
• Helena College Senior School
• Helena Valley Junior School
• Helena College Primary School
• High Wycombe Primary School
• Illawarra Primary School
• Kalamunda Christian Primary School
• Kewdale Primary School
• Lesmurdie Primary School
• Maida Vale Primary School
• Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School
• Middle Swan Primary School
• Mount Helena Primary School
• Mundaring Childcare Centre
• Noranda Primary School
• Parkerville Primary School
• Pickering Brook Primary School
• Redcliffe Primary School
• Riverlands Montessori School
• Sacred Heart School (Mundaring)
• Sawyers Valley Primary School
• South Ballajura Primary School
• St Brigid’s Primary School
• St Bridgid’s College
• St Helena's Catholic Primary School
• St. Michael's Primary School
• St. Peter's Primary School
• Sawyers Valley Primary School
• Swan View Primary School
• Treetops Montessori School
• Upper Swan Primary School
• Weld Square Primary School
• West Beechboro Primary School
• Woodbridge Primary School
• Woodlupine Primary School
• Wooroloo Primary School
   

We have joined forces with Mobile Muster to offer participating battery collection schools a chance to dispose of old mobile phones. To take advantage of this, please let students and parents know that they can bring in their old mobile phones, batteries included. You may want to advertise this in your next school newsletter or on your school's website.

It's important that the mobile phones and accessories are kept separate from the dry cell batteries as they are sent to different recycling plants for processing. KEEP MOBILE PARTS IN A SEPARATE BAG OR BOX. When your batteries require collection, our battery collector will take the mobile phones as well.
 

The Mobile Muster Local Government Award for Working with Schools is given to the local council that have encouraged and supported schools in mobile phone recycling. During 2009 the EMRC has collected over 40 kgs of mobile phones from schools in Perth's Eastern Region. These phones and accessories have been recycled into fence posts, jewellery, pallets and stainless steel pots and pans.

The aim of the EMRC battery recycling program is to educate children on why it is important to correctly dispose of common dry-cell batteries, whilst providing them with a responsible means of disposal.

A natural extension to this program was to offer schools the opportunity to recycle mobile phones using the Mobile Muster program. From 2008 the EMRC offered to collect old mobile phones from schools involved in the battery recycling program. In return, the schools promoted this recycling opportunity using their newsletters, websites and assemblies, giving the whole school community a convenient drop off point for old phones and batteries.

By collecting old phones the EMRC hopes to make recycling easier for schools because in many cases smaller schools do not have the staff available to monitor multiple recycling programs.

For more information about the Mobile Muster program visit www.mobilemuster.com.au/
 

We have joined forces with Mobile Muster to offer participating battery collection schools a chance to dispose of old mobile phones. To take advantage of this, please let students and parents know

Place your used batteries inside the black bag in your battery bin.
Store used batteries in a cool, dry, well ventilated area.

If you have any corroding or leaking batteries use a plastic bad to pick up the battery and tie the bag at one end before placing it into an old plastic takeaway container, then into the battery bin.

Remember your bin is for dry cell batteries only - no rubbish or car batteries allowed.