As an initiative of ECOBAT, a European association of producer responsibility organizations for batteries and accumulators, the second week of September is now celebrated as the European Battery Recycling Week. Its aim is to raise awareness of the need to sort and recycle used batteries. In a short period of time Slovakia has improved greatly as far as battery sorting is concerned. As many as 191 tonnes of portable used batteries were collected in 2018, while more than 600 tonnes have been collected and recycled through ASEKOL SK since 2015.

As the only Slovak member of EUCOBAT, ASEKOL SK, a Slovak producer responsibility organization for electrical and electronic equipment and batteries and accumulators, used the European Battery Recycling Week to assess its results achieved so far. “We have been collecting and recycling batteries and accumulators intensively since 2015. During such period of time we have sorted, collected and recycled over 607 tonnes of batteries,“ said Ronald Blaho, ASEKOL SK´s executive officer.

To celebrate the European Battery Recycling Week, ASEKOL SK raised awareness in shopping centres: on September 10, 2019 in Avion Shopping Park Bratislava and on September 12, 2019 in Bory Mall in Bratislava, in the ECOcheese stall, where competitions and games were held focused on sorting and recycling waste, particularly batteries. Children took part in competitions and adults had the chance to ask questions and discuss the importance of waste sorting and recycling with professionals.

It was not by chance that EUCOBAT chose September for the European Battery Recycling Week. On September 9, 1737 Luigi Galvani was born, a renowned Italian doctor and physicist who became famous for his tests with so-called animal electricity. Inspired by Galvani´s investigation activities, Allesandro Volta, Galvani´s contemporary and opponent, built the first primary cell, the principle of which became the basic construction element of all electrical batteries and accumulators.