Finland’s battery collection scheme smashes EU targets

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Case Recser

Objectives

As our homes fill with the latest electronic gadgets, mobile technology, tools and toys, we're using more and more batteries. EU regulations require that the collection and recycling of batteries used for consumer appliances is organised by battery manufacturers: legislation on producer responsibility for battery waste recycling came into force in June 2008, with the requirement that a scheme be in place by September 2010. Finland has set itself an additional challenge to eventually become a 'recycling nation' with no need for waste dumps at all.

Recser is the Finnish industry coalition for battery recycling, with members including Nokia, Varta, Energizer, Sony Ericsson, Apple and Panasonic. The organisation had developed bright red cardboard collection boxes for batteries, with the aim of placing them in shops and convenience stores around the country.

Recser asked Akvamariini Porter Novelli to help it tell the Finnish public about the collection boxes and encourage them to recycle their batteries. The team's second objective was to persuade more battery producers to join the coalition and support the Red Box campaign.

Finns are enthusiastic recyclers, who already recycle 98% of all bottles, but the campaign presented the PR team with a number of challenges:

  • There was very low consumer awareness of the need to recycle batteries
  • There are no sanctions for battery producers who do not sign up to a recycling scheme
  • The budget was moderate and the national campaign was dependent on PR, with no advertising support
  • There is another industry coalition in Finland, ERP. Its members, including Duracell, had long-standing relationships and were intending to set up their own 'rival' battery collection scheme.

Strategy and Plan

The Finnish retail business is concentrated around two chains, the S and K groups. Recser negotiated with both chains, which agreed to the Red Box collection points being placed in 6,000 stores all over Finland. The box measures 24x24x38cm, takes up to 2,500 batteries, and can be used over and over.

The strategy was to create sustained awareness in and pressure from the mainstream news and trade media so consumers, producers and retail staff would start to understand the availability and importance of battery recycling.

One of the key messages for consumers, to be communicated via the media and store staff, was how convenient and easy it was to put used batteries in the red boxes while shopping. Other messages included the environmental importance of recycling batteries; dumping batteries is not acceptable; and retailers have a responsibility to collect batteries as they sell new ones.

From October 2008 to January 2010, Akvamariini's activities included:

  • Media relations with the mainstream media, trade press and environmental journalists, including setting up interviews with Recser.
  • Organising competitions on the S chain's website and in publications such as youth magazines Suosikki and Demi.
  • Conducting interviews for press releases with experts including the regulatory authorities, battery producers, and companies that process the metal collected from recycled batteries, as well as interviewing consumers and retail sales people who guided consumers to use the red boxes.
  • Distributing monthly press releases, with timely themes such as recycling toy batteries over the Christmas period.
  • Organising photo shoots.
  • Updates on the kilos/percentages of batteries collected.

Results and Outcomes

In an incredibly short time, Recser has created Finland's first battery recycling scheme from scratch. The Red Box scheme now has a total of 14,000 collection points in retailers, kiosks and convenience stores across the country, plus the transportation and logistics infrastructure to ensure consumers' efforts have translated to effective reuse of the metals in the batteries.

By October 2009, just one year after the team started work, a survey by the S retail group showed 78% of the Finnish population had heard of the Red Box scheme and were aware of the collection points in stores. The negative impact of batteries on the environment was recognised by 99% of respondents. The red boxes are now an everyday sight in Finland, and consumers are familiar with using them.

The numbers of batteries being recycled in Finland has reached astonishingly high levels in a very short space of time. According to the Waste Management Organisation of Finland, at the end of 2008, only between 5.5% and 10% of batteries in the market were recycled. By the start of 2010, this had risen to 40%, amounting to two million kilos. The legislation requires Finland to collect 25% of batteries by 2012 and 45% by 2016, so thanks to Recser's efforts the 2016 target has almost been met already. The dumping of batteries has also reduced by 27% since the start of the campaign.

In total, the media relations element of the campaign yielded 311 pieces of coverage with a circulation of 23m (there are 5.3m people in Finland), plus four TV news bulletins and three radio interviews. Almost all - 98% - was overtly positive, and 95% included at least one key message. Among the highlights was being featured on the first three pages of Finland's leading business daily. Headlines included:

  • 'Red Box collection points for batteries are working well'
  • 'Vivid start for battery collection in stores'
  • 'The Red Boxes are filling up fast'

The team also met the objective of getting battery producers and appliance manufacturers on board: Recser now has 400 members across the country. In addition, the success of the project and the enormous publicity generated by the introduction of the red boxes persuaded the other industry coalition, ERP Finland, to join forces with Recser, and is now integrating its own system with the Red Box recycling scheme and collection network, avoiding duplication of effort.

The campaign has also had a broader impact. Before Recser started promoting the Red Box scheme, metals from the low numbers of batteries being recycled just went to waste burning plants. Now such large quantities are being recycled that innovative new technology for re-using the waste products from batteries has been created in Finland. New jobs have been created as a direct result of these technological advances, notably at recycling company Akkuser, which now employs 10 more people as its cutting-edge capability means that batteries collected in Sweden and Norway are now being brought to Finland for recycling.

Recser managing director Sakari Sainio said: 'It is unbelievable how well we succeeded in creating buzz in the media. Knowledge of the system skyrocketed in a very short time span, and this helped significantly in all our negotiations'.