FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
The problem
with cordless
appliances
They are handy and popular but all have lithium-ion
batteries, which are hard to recycle. Are we storing up
the next environmental disaster, asks Sarah Ingrams
Y
ou can probably put your
hand on a device that has
a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery
right now. They’re with
you from morning in your electric
toothbrush, to noon in your laptop and
vacuum cleaner, until night, when you
set an alarm on your mobile phone.
There are, on average, 11 Li-on devices
in every household of Which? members
who responded to our survey. If that
was reproduced in every household,
that would mean 295m in the UK.
For some products, Li-ion batteries
provide unarguable benefits; people
find them more convenient and easier
to use. And what would be the point
of a mobile phone that always needed
to be plugged in?
But it would be dangerous to assume
that rechargeable products are always
better than corded devices. In terms
of environmental impact, some Li-ion
products may do more harm than
good. Do we really need batteries
for appliances we only use around the
house, where mains electricity is
simply available on demand?
Also, rechargeable batteries are
sealed into some appliances, which
means that when the battery fails,
the entire thing becomes defunct.
Plus, we routinely replace products
If we all lived like the average
Which? member in our survey,
that’s a total of 295m lithium-ion
batteries in UK households
2 6 W H I C H ? AU G U S T 2 0 1 8
FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
OLD PRODUCTS LAPTOP TABLET
50% keep old leads and
chargers as spares when
they replace a product.
65% own one and 60%
still have their old one.
Two thirds (62%) have
one; half of those (49%)
have more than one.
48% kept an old product
after replacing it.
MOBILE PHONE
CORDLESS VACUUM
84% have a mobile phone,
making it the most 33% own one, of whom 35%
commonly owned device. have replaced the battery.
before they’ve come to the end of their 74% have more than one.
useful lives. And, as this investigation 56% replaced theirs in
has found, lithium-ion batteries the past two years.
themselves could be contributing to 86% upgraded when their
significant environmental damage. old phone still worked.
Li-ion batteries are the force behind
powerful cordless products. They’re
lightweight for the amount of power
they contain, making them superior
to their lead-acid and nickel-cadmium
predecessors. But the UK has neither
the raw materials to manufacture
them, nor the facilities to recycle them.
The Global Battery Alliance predicts
that globally by 2030 we will have
generated 11m tonnes of spent Li-ion CORDLESS DIGITAL CAMERA
batteries. The more we can recycle DRILL
these, the less we need to extract raw 65% own one. 86% bought
materials for new battery production 49% have one – it’s a new one when the old
and the less likely that they will end the most-owned one still worked.
up in landfill. Lithium-ion DIY tool.
The UK is the second-biggest market
in Europe for Li-ion batteries, after ELECTRIC
Germany. By weight, they account TOOTHBRUSH
for 20 to 25% of all batteries on the Owned by 56%, 17%
market in Europe and, according to threw their old one in
an estimate by the European Portable the bin. Don’t – recycle it!
Battery Association, their share E-CIGARETTE
‘quadrupled’ from 2004 to 2015. By ELECTRIC SHAVER 3% have one, of
2024, the global Li-ion battery market AND BEARD whom 43% replaced
could be worth as much as £60.4bn. TRIMMER it in the past year.
Our survey showed that 48% of Li-on ELECTRIC CAR
devices are retained by owners once 35% replaced one of these
in the past two years. Owned by just 6%, this is the
most likely product to be
replaced while still working.
The average electric car battery
could still have 70% capacity
HOW MANY LITHIUM- left after a decade’s use.
ION BATTERIES
ILLUSTRATION: MUTI
DO YOU OWN? * To find out how many Li-ion batteries you have –
and where your old ones end up – we surveyed
5,081 Which? Connect members in May 2018.
W H I C H .C O.U K W H I C H .C O.U K AU G U S T 2 0 1 8 W H I C H ? 2 7
 FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
Cordless
appliances and
lithium-ion
batteries
Cordless products are increasingly
popular, and Dyson plans to stop
developing plug-in vacuums. We
test hundreds of cordless products
a year and have found that many are
more convenient and easier to use
than corded equivalents.
But in choosing a cordless product,
are you choosing ease over durability?
Our 2018 reliability survey found
that, overall, cordless vacs are almost
as reliable as corded. However,
cordless vacuums typically have a
two-year warranty – such as Dyson’s
top-of-the-range cordless Dyson
Cyclone V10 Animal (£450) – while
Dyson’s corded Light Ball Animal
Upright Bagless (£219) is guaranteed
for five years.
Dyson’s Li-ion batteries are
replaceable (although you’ll need
to buy them through a third party)
and it collects customers’ old vacs
to recycle. Bosch advertises that
you can easily swap the batteries
between its Unlimited vacuum
cleaner and power tools.
You can also replace Li-ion
batteries in some Morphy
Richards, Samsung and
Shark vacuum cleaners.
But if you choose to buy
a more budget-friendly
model, the lithium battery
is likely to be built into
a sealed unit. This means
that when the battery
fails, you’ll have to
replace the entire
product. Seven in
ten people (71%)
said they’d consider
whether the battery
was replaceable
when choosing
a new vacuum.
2 8 W H I C H ? AU G U S T 2 0 1 8
they have bought a replacement
model and are not recycled. Even more
worryingly, 10% end up in the bin and
risk going to landfill.
As they degrade, Li-ion batteries can
be a fire and explosion risk. Lithium
itself is a highly reactive alkali and if
the unit short-circuits, it can cause a
fire. This short-circuiting can happen
through exposure to water or – as in
the case of the headline-grabbing
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 – through
overheating. When Li-ion batteries
end up in landfill, chemicals can also
leach into soil and groundwater.
The production of these batteries
also comes at an environmental and
social cost. There are few lithium
mines in the world, and its extraction
is linked to water pollution, depleting
water supplies and soil damage. Toxic
chemicals used in processing can
be harmful when released.
Cobalt, which is also vital for Li-ion
batteries, is produced at scale by just
a handful of mines. Around two thirds
of the world’s cobalt comes from the
Democratic Republic of Congo, where
mines often rely on subsistence
workers, including child labourers,
according to Amnesty International.
Recycling the UK’s
rechargeable batteries
It’s important for consumers to dispose
of batteries correctly, but that doesn’t
guarantee they will be recycled. Some
WHERE ARE OUR BATTERIES GOING?
Germany Sweden
Canada
Belgium
France
Spain
USA
Switzerland
Based on information
from the Environment
Agency, G&P Batteries
and Valpak.
current recycling processes are
inefficient, and ‘consume material in
the process of recycling,’ explains Dr
Gavin Harper, of the University of
Birmingham’s Centre for Strategic
Elements and Critical Materials.
Currently, recycling processes
recover between 38% and 60% of
a lithium-ion battery – mostly its metal
components – according to battery
collection and recycling specialist
G&P Batteries. In contrast, up to 95%
of a traditional lead-acid battery can be
recycled. But there is progress: Spanish
specialist Envirobat is developing
a process that it claims recovers more
than 80% of the lithium and cobalt
from batteries, while in the UK the
government-funded Faraday Battery
Challenge is working on ways to reuse
and recycle.
One of the ‘biggest challenges’ for
recycling is collecting batteries in the
first place, says Dr Harper. Consumers
need to dispose of them correctly (see
p29) so raw materials can be recovered.
There are no recycling facilities
in the UK for Li-ion batteries. The
Environment Agency told us it doesn’t
have figures to show how many of the
UK’s Li-ion batteries are recycled
because they are exported for recycling.
There are also no specific recycling
targets or figures for Li-on batteries,
as the EU regulations underpinning
UK law were created 10 years ago
when they were in their infancy.
Finland
South Korea/
The Republic
of Korea
W H I C H .C O.U K
DISPOSAL OF LITHIUM-ION
DISPOSURE OF OUR OUR LI-ION BATTERIES
BATTERIES
Used council facilities to recycle it
Gave it to someone else
Put it in the general waste bin
Took it back to the shop or manufacturer
Gave it to charity 4%
Gave it to another organisation to recycle 3%
Sold it to a company to sell on 2%
Sold it online myself 2%
Don’t know or can’t remember
0%
Based on an online survey of 3,444 Which? members in May 2018, who had disposed of a device with a Li-ion battery.
Some compliance schemes’ data give
an idea. G&P Batteries collected more
than 300 tonnes of Li-ion batteries in
2017, which has grown ‘significantly’
from previous years, says Tom Seward,
its commercial director. But he suspects
that the amount collected is far short
of that put on the market, as exported
appliances might be dismantled and
recycled overseas instead.
Where are they recycled?
Many UK Li-ion batteries are recycled
in Europe, and some in the US and
South Korea (see map, left). But two
in five Li-ion battery recyclers are
in China, according to a 2018 study
by Circular Energy Storage. It said:
‘limited recycling of Li-ion batteries in
Europe and North America has little to
do with lack of technology.’ Instead, it
blames policies that ‘don’t acknowledge
the reuse value in batteries’.
Future of recycling
There is huge potential for reuse and
recycling of Li-ion batteries, which the
UK is not currently harnessing, despite
a growing enthusiasm for cordless
electricals. Recycling develops a
secondary market for raw materials,
reduces reliance on imports, and
THE BOTTOM LINE
The UK has a long way to go to catch up with
lithium-ion battery recycling capability in Europe.
You can reduce pressure for new raw materials, and
contribute to a circular economy, by making sure
your unwanted lithium-ion batteries are reused or
recycled, not hoarded at home, and considering
whether you really need a cordless product.
W H I C H .C O.U K
39%
18%
6%
10%
15%
10% 20% 30% 40%
diverts batteries from landfill. The
average electric car battery could still
have 70% of its capacity left after a
decade’s use, according to Bloomberg,
and several car manufacturers are
reusing them for home energy storage.
Last year, the UK government set
up the Faraday Battery Challenge with
£246m to develop new technologies,
including ‘increasing recyclability’ and
examining the potential to reuse Li-ion
electric vehicle batteries. Birmingham
University is leading a three-year
project to improve efficiency and
economics of recycling and reuse.
It aims to develop technology to
‘remove a whole battery from an
electric vehicle and reprocess it’.
In the UK we’ve fallen in love with
cordless products. But there’s still
a long way to go before we’ll be able
to manufacture, reuse and recycle
rechargeable batteries sustainably.
Until then, it’s worth considering
which cordless products we can’t
do without, and which have an
environmental impact that outweighs
the benefits. And, once your
rechargeable electricals reach
the end of their lives, it’s important
to dispose of them correctly to ensure
they can be reused and recycled.
FIND OUT MORE
On which.co.uk
● See the most reliable
mobile phones, according
to our owner survey, at
which.co.uk/
reliablemobiles
● Best and worst AA and
AAA rechargeable batteries
FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
What should I do
with my lithium-
ion batteries?
If you have a box of old phones under
the bed, a tablet with a cracked screen
in a drawer, or an old digital camera
in the loft, now’s the time to dispose
of them correctly. Don’t put them in
the bin (as 5% of you have admitted to).
Instead, find the best option depending
on their state of disrepair:
■ No longer used but in good condition
Perhaps you upgrade your mobile
phone annually and keep old ones that
work, or your children have outgrown
their remote-controlled toys. Consider
giving them to friends or family, using
an online service such as Freecycle to
give or swap them, or donating them
to charity (British Heart Foundation
has dedicated electricals shops). You
can sell working electricals online (eg
Ebay), or on the high street (eg CEX)
if you’re keen to make some cash.
Make sure you run a factory reset and
encrypt your data before you give away
or recycle your device.
■ Broken product
If your item is beyond repair, or it’s
a personal care product that would
be unhygienic to rehome (such as a
shaver), make sure it gets recycled.
If you’re replacing a large appliance,
ask the shop to dispose of your old
one. Otherwise, take it to your local
council’s household recycling facilities.
■ Spent small Li-ion batteries
(including those from remote controls,
phones or toothbrushes)
Take these to your local supermarket
or shop. Any retailer that sells more
than 32kg (around 245 packs of AAs)
per year must provide collection
facilities. Some local councils also offer
a kerbside collection.
at which.co.uk/ our lives’, Nov 2017, p18
● ‘What’s going on with your
rechargeable-batteries
● Know when you can use recycling?’, June 2017, p44
a manufacturer’s warranty
or guarantee – go to Other useful contacts
which.co.uk/warranties ● Find your nearest battery
collection facility at
Recent articles recyclenow.com/
in Which? what-to-do-with/
● ‘60 products that changed batteries-1
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