A new campaign aiming for a battery-free Christmas holiday was launched this Tuesday by many french ecological associations. Meanwhile, France figures as being the worst European player in the recycling field of disposable hazardous waste, such as batteries.

“Battery powered gifts are very popular during Christmas, (…) which invariably cause those toxic waste to raise”, says french ecological associations, including “Les Amis de la Terre” and “Agir pour l’environnement” through their press release.

France collected a mere 32% of all dead batteries in 2004, according to these associations.

“On an average of 25 battery powered items per household, 2 batteries out of 3 will end up in the trash or in nature, that’s twice as much as in Belgium or Austria.”

“The cadmium and other heavy metals (mercury, nickel, lead, zinc…) contained in a battery can cause breathing or bone diseases, extreme tiredness, headaches, etc. Alternatives to disposable batteries exists (rechargeable batteries, solar powered calculators…) and suppliers are forced by law to take back dead batteries.”

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