Powys County Council are urging residents to recycle all their old batteries and battery powered electricals, rather than putting them in the bin.

Across the UK each year, the equivalent of 22,000 tonnes of batteries are disposed of, with only one third being recycled properly - the rest end up in the rubbish bin.

These old batteries that are just thrown away can be dangerous. When collected along with other rubbish or recycling, the batteries can be unintentionally squashed, compacted, punctured, shredded, or soaked in liquids. When this happens, often the chemicals and other harmful contents can cause damage to the environment, while some types of battery can get very hot or even ignite.

It's not just the everyday batteries that need to be recycled correctly. Many batteries can be found in portable electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones, cameras, power-tools, remote-controlled toys, drones, electric scooters and even e-cigarettes.

Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys said:

"It is the time of year when many of us are having a clear out and replacing old household items with those bought at Christmas time or in the January sales."

"But it is really important to make sure we don't throw out any of our old batteries and battery powered electricals with the rubbish. Not only because these items should be recycled, but for safety reasons too.

"Items such as batteries and other electronics can all be recycled safely at the Household Waste Recycling Centres [HWRC]. Many supermarkets, libraries and schools also have safe recycling points for small, household batteries.

"Batteries should always be removed from unwanted goods and recycled separately. By recycling batteries responsibly, and never throwing them out with the general rubbish, we can not only boost our recycling rate, but also make sure they end up in safe, specialist, battery recycling facility."

For more information on what materials can be recycled in Powys, please see out online recycling guide: A to Z of waste and recyclable items