Winnipeg, Manitoba, lies roughly 1,500 miles (2,414 km) north of Austin, Texas. But residents of both communities shared a common goal this fall–to recycle their used batteries and cellphones as part of a friendly community competition among their local library branches. Thanks to the enthusiastic response of library patrons, an astonishing 10,200 lbs. (4,627 kg) of batteries were collected for recycling.
In Canada, Call2Recycle partnered with Winnipeg Public Library to encourage residents to keep batteries and cellphones out of the landfills during Waste Reduction Week, Oct. 19-25, 2015. The Library’s branches vied for the title of Winnipeg Waste Ace and a community grant by creating eye-catching battery displays and using social media to encourage participation. In total, 4,400 lbs. (2,000 kg) was collected in just one week. Read the press release here.
Directly south, in Austin, Texas, the Austin Public Library, Austin Resource Recovery and Call2Recycle partnered to launch the 2015 Austin Recharge Challenge. Austin residents were asked to drop off their used single-use and rechargeable batteries at one of the 21 library locations or other drop-off centers between Aug. 17 and Sept. 18.
Residents diverted more than 5,800 lbs. (2,630 kg) of batteries from landfills; 51% more batteries were collected from libraries during the Challenge than during the entire previous year. Using the $1000 grant from the Fall 2015 Battery Recycling Challenge, the winning North Village Branch of the Austin Public Library purchased a public-use charging station library. Read the press release here.
For information on hosting your own collection event, visit our resource pages in the US or in Canada.
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