§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made towards the recycling of batteries; and if he will make a statement about the role of the Warren Spring laboratory.
§ Mr. Forth[holding answer 12 December 1989]: Battery recycling is well-established in the United Kingdom, but is mostly concentrated upon the larger land-acid and nickel-cadmium cells, and upon silver oxide and mercuric oxide button cells. Commercial recycling of the consumer types of alkaline manganese and nickel-cadmium batteries has not so far proved economically viable. Warren Spring laboratory, as part of a collaborative project, is carrying out research into methods of recovering these batteries from the domestic waste stream and the environmental, economic and technical issues which recovery involves.