Collection points for used batteries should be provided in all retail outlets selling batteries, according to the Consumers' Association of Ireland.
The consumer body is also critical of the high cost of disposable batteries in Ireland.
Battery use peaks in the weeks after Christmas as children play with their new Gameboys, Tekstas and CD players. Most of these batteries will end up, via our bins, to a landfill site, where they can damage the environment. In 1996, 20 tonnes of batteries were exported from Ireland for disposal. It is estimated that a further 2,738 tonnes of small batteries were disposed of in an unrecorded manner.
New batteries no longer contain mercury. Cadmium, which is thought to cause liver, kidney and brain damage if it reaches the food chain, is being phased out, but batteries can still damage the environment if they are disposed of with household waste, according to a report in the January issue of Consumer Choice, the magazine of the CAI.
A draft EU law, due within the next few months, requires all EU member-states to recycle 65-70 per cent of domestic batteries, but it will not come into force for another three to four years.
If the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers refuse to lower their prices they should at least take some responsibility for the damage batteries do to the environment, according to the CAI, which says: "We should not have to wait for EU legislation before we are provided with collection units in all retail outlets which sell batteries."
The price of batteries varies depending on where you shop. The CAI found that Duracell Alkaline was cheapest at £3.49 for four batteries in Dunnes Stores and Tesco and dearest in Spar at £3.99.
Duracell Ultra cost £4.49 in Tesco but £4.95 in Supervalu. Philips Powerlife cost £2.99 in Dunnes Stores and £3.15 in Superquinn. The cheapest batteries found by the CAI team were Philips Longlife in Superquinn at £1.89.
Useful websites: www.which.net; www.consumerassociation.ie