| About the School Battery Retrieval Program and Competition |
Ever since the competition began in November 2009, we have so far collected 6000 LBs of household batteries.
Which is equivalent to approximately 300,000 individual batteries. Let's keep up the good work!!
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Batteries and our environment
Dry-cell batteries, used in most common household products and toys, are part of our
everyday lives. However, little thought has been given to the chemicals they contain
to generate the energy we use. When they run out of power, they are often thrown into
the rubbish without a second thought (which is illegal!).
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Once a battery is in the waste stream, it becomes difficult to separate. Consequently,
it is sent to landfill with other non-recyclable products. Over time, the battery decomposes
and dangerous chemicals seep into the ground, and potentially to our water supplies.
Although "dry cell" batteries represent less than one (1%) percent of municipal solid waste weight,
they account for fifty-two (52%) percent of all Cadmium (predominantly used in rechargeable ni-cd batteries)
and eighty-eight (88%) percent of all Mercury (For more information about Mercury in batteries, please go to
Environment Canada website) found in landfills.
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In Canada, we value the importance of protecting our environment and have undertaken a
number of initiatives to maximize recycling and minimize waste. However, we believe
that increasing awareness and knowledge is very important. Batteries should be recycled
to keep heavy metals and other toxic substances out of landfill and water supply.
The objective of the School Battery Retrieval Competition is to educate high school students
the impact of land and water contamination from batteries as well as the importance of
stopping the batteries being disposed as municipal solid waste through the competition.
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The Competition
Discarded batteries can
dangers to personal health and the environment.
Properly dispose them to keep dangerous chemicals such as mercury and cadmium out of our landfill.
Students will learn about the importance of battery recycling.
This program consists of training, collecting, and recycling of household
batteries. Schools in Markham will participate through a competition each school year.
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Input from the school during the competition
Our EcoWatch personnel will work closely with your school. Before the competition start, our volunteers
will deliver the starter kit to the school and place the recycling bin to a location according to application form.
The starter kit contains all the necessary information and accessories that you will need throughout the competition.
The only input we need during the competition is a contact (either a teacher or student) to inform us once the recycling
bin is being fill up.
Then we will arrange a pick-up and deliver the collected batteries to the
hazardous waste treatment plant. At the end of the competition,
the winning school (based on average battery weight collected per student), will be rewarded and recognized
for their efforts.
*** The winner is detemined by the highest weight per student.
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| School Battery Retrieval Competition Markham 2010 |
* Markham Councillor Alex Chiu (2nd left), Ms. Megan Cowley (3rd left) and the Battery Patrols
from the Unionville Meadows Public School receiving the winner's plaque and the prizes at the B4B BBQ
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***** WINNER *****
Unionville Meadows Public School
** 935 LBs / 1.46 LBs per student **
1st - Unionville Meadows Public School ** 1.46 LBs per student **
2nd - James Robinson Public School ** 1.32 LBs per student **
3rd - Ashton Meadows Public School ** 0.72 LBs per student **
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| School Battery Retrieval Competition Markham 2009 |
* Mr. Simon Yuen (left) and the ECO Team from the
San Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Elementary School
receiving the winner's plaque and the prizes
***** WINNER *****
San Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Elementary School
** 547 LBs / 1.14 LBs per student **
** 2nd Highest Collected Weight - Unionville Meadows Public School - 333 LBs / 0.52 LBs per student **
** 2nd Highest Average Weight - Ashton Meadows Public School - 233 LBs / 0.79 LBs per student **
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