Can you improve your green credentials?

Over the past few years we have seen new regulations come into force, requiring retailers selling batteries to provide collection and recycling facilities for the eventual disposal of the 800,000 tonnes of automotive batteries placed on the EU market every year.

This ruling however won’t have a great deal of impact on the environment – the automotive battery is already considered by some to be one of the most recycled products in the world.

The increased care and maintenance of automotive batteries however would dramatically reduce battery failures, in turn cutting down carbon emissions and ultimately the needless replacement of thousands of tonnes of automotive batteries every year.

It is heartening to learn that in America as an example, as many as 99% of batteries are turned in for recycling. It is also good to understand that the majority of the battery components can be reused – the lead in a 12-Volt battery can be recycled, the electrolyte repurposed and the plastic ground up and reused. Whilst this activity significantly reduce

s environmental impact in terms of landfill pollution there is still the requirement for the battery to be transported numerous times from initial consumer disposal, to recycling plants and subsequent distribution of the separated battery parts. Recycling 800,000 tonnes of battery isn’t quite as good for the environment as it first seems; think of the effect on our carbon footprint.

Our research indicates that whilst as many as 1 in 3 batteries are not working to full capacity, they are not defective. A regular battery charge as part of a maintenance routine could easily double a battery’s service life, significantly reducing the number of battery failures and therefore the number of batteries being produced and recycled.

Let’s not also forget the financial impact on the consumer; by regularly using a battery charger, such as the CTEK MXS 5.0, to protect and maintain batteries, motorists can keep their batteries healthy and avoid expensive replacement costs of new batteries.

Undertaking regular battery charging and conditioning can increase your green credentials, save you time and money whilst also ensuring that your vehicle starts first time, every time.