01 Aug Texas Campaign for the Environment Targets Battery Maker Rayovac for Bad Record on Recycling

Texas Campaign for the Environment—TCE has announced a campaign to press Rayovac, a major battery manufacturer, to step up their efforts on recycling and waste reduction.  The group asked Rayovac in May to take responsibility for the complete life-cycle of their products, instead of burdening local governments with their recycling.  Now TCE has been joined by 26 other organizations from across the country calling on Rayovac to provide recycling for their  batteries in Texas, as they do in Europe.

Perhaps the worst part of Rayovac’s behavior is the disconnect between their policies overseas and here in the US.  In September of last year they told UK customers that “throwing batteries in the bin to end up in landfill is harmful to the environment as well as a waste of a resource… Plus recycling batteries can also keep the cost of new batteries down. Materials recovered from recycled batteries means less material has to be mined in the future.”  This is exactly what we argue, but when writing to us earlier this year Rayovac said “primary batteries… are safe to dispose of in the ordinary household trash.  Rayovac does not believe… that the primary batteries it sells 'pose a threat to our environment.’" This hypocrisy is outrageous, and it is time for Rayovac to offer  US customers the same opportunities for recycling their European customers enjoy.

Click here to read "Rayovac helps UK hit Recycling Targets"

Rayovac is one of the four largest manufacturers of single-use batteries. Duracell, Energizer and Panasonic have all taken steps towards establishing battery takeback recycling for consumers. These companies formed the Corporation for Battery Recycling, but Rayovac pulled out of the group and instead instructs its customers to dispose of their batteries in the household trash. Single-use batteries are banned from disposal in California and Europe, and are considered “universal waste” by the EPA—a category of widely produced, potentially hazardous products which should be kept out of normal disposal streams whenever possible. Rayovac also produces rechargeable batteries which are toxic and even more widely banned from disposal.

Click here to Send a Message to Rayovac – Take Action Now!

Texas Campaign for the Environment privately called upon Rayovac, as well as lighting manufacturers Philips, GE and Sylvania to change their policies in May, and Rayovac, Philips and Sylvania responded with a refusal in June.  Most modern lighting is also toxic, and manufacturers have also declined to offer their consumers responsible solutions for disposal or recycling. TCE was joined in their public response by organizations from 11 states, including:

• Recycle Worlds Consulting, based in Madison, Wisconsin
• Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin
• Northeast Wisconsin Zero Waste Coalition
• ReThink Wisconsin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student group
• Nothing Left to Waste, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Eureka Recycling, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Michigan Clean Water Action
• The New Jersey Environmental Federation
• Rhode Island Clean Water Action
• Massachusetts Clean Water Action
• California Clean Water Action
• The Product Policy Institute, a national organization headquartered in Rockland, Maine
• Safe Minds, a national organization headquartered in Huntington Beach, California
• Citizens’ Campaign for the Environment, based in Farmingdale, New York and Hamden, Connecticut
• Clean and Healthy New York, based in Albandy, New York
• Vermont Public Interest Research Group, based in Montpelier, Vermont
• Zero Waste DetroitCRADLE2, based in Augusta, Maine
• Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition, based in Austin, Texas
• Basel Action Network, an international organization based in Seattle, Washington
• Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), an international organization based in Berkeley, California
• Electronics Takeback Coalition, based in San Francisco, California
• International Campaign for Responsible Technology, based in San Jose, California
• Eco-Cycle, based in Boulder, Colorado

TCE hopes to bring groups from around the country together in a widespread, creative campaign to change the companies’ policies.  The group was previously successful in pressuring computer-maker Dell, Inc. into offering takeback recycling, and went on to successful campaigns against a number of major computer and TV makers.  These campaigns culminated in state legislation in 2007 and 2011 providing for guaranteed manufacturer takeback for computers and televisions in the state of Texas.

 “We are not afraid to take on big companies that are doing too little for the planet,” said the group's executive director, Robin Schneider.  “We are also excited when we get to move from opposition to cooperation, and we expect that Rayovac and the lighting companies will make changes sooner rather than later. Until then, we intend to organize support to hold these irresponsible companies accountable.”

Contact: Andrew Dobbs (512) 326-5655, dobbs@texasenvironment.org