Do you have an old car battery in your garage?
You have done the right thing by not putting it out with the household rubbish, but there is a better way of disposing them, as car batteries can be recycled safely and efficiently.
There are an estimated 12 million vehicle batteries on Australian Roads at any one time. Once spent, they can pose significant risks to the environment and also to individuals unless they are properly disposed of.
In fact, RACV believes more than 40,000 old car batteries could be decaying in Victorian garages.
So RACV has organised the Great Battery Round Up day, on Saturday 9 October - the same day as the federal election. If you have an old car battery, you can drop it in at any of the participating RACV Service Centres or Shell autoserve sites on your way to vote - we'll ensure that it is properly recycled.
And for every battery we recieve, RACV will give $1 to the Royal Children's Hospital.
Disposing of old car batteries is not the most simple of tasks, unless you have used a mobile battery replacement service such as RACV batteries, which takes away your old battery to be recycled. When you consider there are only a small number of responsible disposable option available, and the fact that there are four million replaced every year, it's not surprising many batteries just sit in the family garage for extended periods of time.
This needn't be so because, according to the Australian Battery Industry Association, around 96% of a car battery is recyclable.
"Australia is actually a world leader in battery recycling," says Trish Oliver, manager of RACV Motoring Products. "We can save around 14-15kg of lead from every battery.
"But having so many batteries left unaccounted for is a concern. Battery acid can cause burns and may also do enormous damage to the environment.
"With the support of EcoRecycle Victoria and the Royal Children's Hospital, we welcome the challenge of trying to collect 40,000 batteries.
"RACV members have always got behind good causes, and we are hoping that on Saturday 9 October they will back this one, too."
Where to take your batteries
The following sites will be open between 9am and 4pm on Saturday, 9 October to collect your old car batteries*:
RACV SERVICE CENTRES
Balwyn: Greythorn Motors, 313 Doncaster Rd
Brighton: M&W Auto Electrics, 458 New St
Brunswick East: Engine Fit Brunswick, 87 Nicholson St
Camberwell: D.J.S Auto Electrical, 584 Camberwell Rd
Chadstone: Bowen Automotive Tyre & Brake, 67 Poath Rd
Glen Waverly: A & D Automotive Technicians, 655A Waverly Rd
Greensborough: Greensborough Auto Electrical, 257 Para Rd
Kingsbury: Kingsbury Auto Electrical, 931 Plenty Rd
Montrose: Montrose Automotive Services, 839 Mt Dandenong Rd
Noble Park: RACV, 550 Princes Hwy (enter via Browns Rd)
Officer: Berwick Motor Body Repairs, 395 Princes Hwy
Port Melbourne: Bay Garage, 550 Williamstown Rd
SHELL AUTOSERV SITES
Altona Meadows: Cnr Queen & Victoria Sts
Cheltenham: Cnr Centre Dandenong & Warrigal Rds
Collingwood: 52 Wellington St
Eltham: Cnr Main & Mt Pleasant Rds
Moorabbin: 13 Taylor St
Narre Warren: 473 Princes Hwy
North Melbourne: 406-416 Victoria St
Windsor: Cnr Shapel St & Dandenong Rd
*Limit of 20 Batteries per person.