Hanshow – a chinese global leader in developing and manufacturing electronic shelf labels and digital store solutions – has joined the European battery recycling effort within its ESG agenda (“Environmental, social, and governance“).
Proper disposal of Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) – reports a Hanshow’s press release – prevents chemical pollution of soil, water, and air, and in turn impacts the health of people and ecosystems. In 2020, it has been estimated that battery recycling has helped to prevent 2.4 mil tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere.
As a company that annually produces millions of electronic devices containing batteries, Hanshow, and its clients have the responsibility to properly handle this waste according to regulations in each locality where we work to minimize environmental impacts.
Two examples below from Hanshow subsidiaries in the Netherlands and France clearly show how Hanshow works to address WEEE recycling.
Hanshow France collaborates with European recycling leader Paprec and ESAT (medico-social establishment aimed at protection and professional integration for people with disabilities). Hanshow’s Stellar and previous ESL models use coin batteries allowing for retailers to replace the battery once it expires.
These expired batteries are sent to Paprec for proper disposal and recycling. Hanshow’s latest ESL model, Nebular, contains an encased battery for a longer lifecycle that is unable to be replaced.
Once Nebular products expire or need repair\replacement they are sent to ESAT where workers open the labels with a special 3D-designed tool and collect the batteries in a special bin, which thereafter is picked up by the specialists from Paprec.
Paprec uses state-of-the-art high-tech equipment throughout the whole recycling process. It operates 8 plants throughout France which collect and recycle 100,000 tonnes of WEEE every year.
After sorting, saline and alkaline batteries are shredded and all recyclable materials are recovered by classified facilities. The resulting raw materials are used in the metal industry or reused in batteries for electric and hybrid cars. Thanks for staying up to date with batteriesnews.com.
Hanshow Netherlands is partnering with the local recycling front-runner Stibat. After the collection, used batteries are transported to the main return point located in Lelystad (overall there are more than 25,000 return points across the Netherlands).
Notably, in 2020 Stibat collected 4.9 million kilos of batteries and accumulator. The recycling process takes place both at home and abroad, in Belgium, Germany, and France. Through the process of a chemical furnace or fire boiler, batteries are separated into steel, zinc, manganese, and lead.
Living up to the best principles of circular economy, the extracted metals are then used to produce bikes, flashlights, cutlery, and other metal products.
There is an “Eco test” mapping the environmental impact of every stage of the recycling process, starting from the collection. In 2020, it has been estimated that battery recycling has helped to avoid 2.4 million kilos of CO2 emissions and 40 million kilos of toxic substances.
Source:batteryindustry
