 Recycling
is a big part of the beneficial use and responsible handling
of lead and products made from it. Exide Technologies invests
in battery recycling because it's good for business and for
the environment.
Today, Exide Technologies recycles approximately 50 million
batteries per year, making it one of the largest secondary lead
smelters in the world. Exide also is a significant recycler
of plastic, capturing the plastic from spent batteries and using
it in the production of cases and covers for new batteries.
Recycling not only protects the environment, but also saves
energy and money on raw materials.
In the recycling process, spent—or
dead—batteries are broken apart,
and the lead, plastic and acid are separated. The lead is melted,
poured into ingots and delivered to battery plants to be used
in new batteries. The plastic is chipped, washed and delivered
to a plastics plant, where it is melted and made into new battery
cases and other parts.
The sulfuric can is reused on a limited basis or alternatively
is neutralized and discharged.
Exide Technologies has a total of 11 recycling facilities; six
in the U.S., four in Europe and one in New Zealand. All of them
make Exide one of the few companies in the stored electrical
energy industry with the capability to provide Total Battery
Management [TBM] in its own facilities.
With TBM, there is no "womb to tomb" for lead-acid batteries,
as there is for consumer products like computers and other products
that aren't recycled. Instead, Exide continuously cycles lead
and plastic through the life—and
afterlife—of batteries. The TBM
infrastructure, consisting of battery manufacturing plants and
recycling facilities combined with a sophisticated distribution
network for new and spent batteries, allows Exide to manage
the life cycle of its products before and after their service
lives. Not many other industries are as proficient.
TBM produces benefits for customers, for Exide and for the environment.
It frees customers from the regulatory burdens of handling lead
and assures them of a continuous supply of batteries made from
superior quality materials. It allows Exide Technologies to
better manage its inventories for increased productivity at
manufacturing sites. Finally, it keeps recyclable materials
in the manufacturing stream instead of piling up in landfills.
All of these benefits help Exide link directly to its mission
to be respected worldwide as the leader in stored energy solutions
and innovative technologies.
Do you want to know where you can safely
turn in old lead-acid batteries to make sure they are recycled?
- If you live in the United States, please call Exide
Technologies' battery information line at 1-800-289-4627.
- For a list of Exide branches, please click
here.
- For more information about lead acid batteries and battery
recycling in North America, please contact
Battery Council International.
- For a state-by-state chart of United States lead-acid
battery laws, click
here.
- Information on
battery recycling and the environment in Europe is available
through
EUROBAT,
the association representing European battery manufacturers.
"Recycling for a Better Environment"
Poster
This poster is stored as an Adobe
Acrobat® file.
Also—download the
new
EXIDE Recycling Poster (1MB PDF)
Both of these colorful poster require free Adobe Acrobat
Reader® available at www.adobe.com
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