By Pepper Parr
September 25th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Supermarkets are continually changing the products they put on their shelves and other services that are part of managing the lives we live.
Recycling batteries – it’s easier to just throw them in with whatever we put in the Blue Box for far too many people.
Look for it at Longos location –
Call2Recycle, a battery recycling network in Ontario, with 2,600 collection sites is working with retail organizations that interact directly with the public.
Longo’s, a supermarket chain with 37 locations in Ontario is the first grocery store chain to join the battery recycling network to dispose of end-of-life batteries as part of their shopping routine, to lessen their impact on the environment and support Canada’s circular economy initiatives.
Call2Recycle and Longo’s are like-minded organizations with strong ties to their local communities and a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. Both organizations are focused on supporting the environment and reducing waste which is why they felt it was important to make battery recycling more accessible to Ontarians – by adding battery recycling services to 37 Longo’s stores in the Greater Toronto Area.
As part of this collaboration, battery sorting and recycling operations are operated by Call2Recycle a not-for-profit organization that works on behalf of battery manufacturers and retailers to provide its battery recycling program at no cost to consumers across Canada.
Once the individual Longo’s locations report that their boxes are full, Call2Recycle arranges for the transport of the batteries to sorting partners who organize them by chemistry.
While some specific batteries have rare metals such as lithium and nickel, which are used to make new batteries, the majority of the recycled components are steel.
These components can be used to manufacture new products such as kitchen appliances, bicycles, or golf clubs. This whole process is part of the circular economy – the overall environmental effort to reuse our materials and reduce the environmental footprint of battery use.
All retailers that sell batteries should provide recycling services as a given.
Great that Longos is doing this but just wanted to say, Fortinos has been doing this for quite some time.
Come on folks, MariLu’s has been doing this for years…..
Congratulations to Longo for such a great concept! i hope they publicize it well so that many people become aware of being able to return used batteries to their store. It is all about recycling!
On a different note, I would like to see businesses like Canadian Tire and others accept used up florescent light bulbs and the energy efficient household light bulbs that we purchase there.