A PILOT scheme to recycle household batteries may be extended to all schools and some offices here, judging by the positive feedback the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) has received.

In just six months, 30 schools have taken up the scheme initiated by the SEC to give the batteries found in gadgets and appliances new life.

Together, they have collected more than 3,500 kg of batteries in different sizes.

A normal AA-sized alkaline battery used in most Walkmans weighs about 25 g.

Encouraged by the response, SEC executive director Penelope Phoon-Cohen wants to extend this voluntary scheme to all schools here, as well as to offices that may be interested.

It took the SEC two years to get the Mad About Batteries project off the ground.

Said Ms Phoon: 'It could have been earlier if we had the cooperation of battery manufacturers and distributors, because they could have offered a battery take-back scheme.'

Despite that cold shoulder, the SEC still welcomes the idea of working with them.

SEC projects executive Anu Rao said: 'We would like to see more participation from the battery manufacturers, distributors and the retail sector as they form an important part of the battery recycling chain.'

Another hitch was in finding a company to ship the batteries overseas, because batteries are classified as hazardous waste and there are strict rules on how this must be handled, especially between borders.

Singapore acceded in 1996 to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. This international treaty controls the export, import and transit of hazardous wastes.

The SEC finally tied up with Citiraya Industries, a listed company here that recycles electronic waste.

Citiraya, which also helps Nokia to recycle mobile-phone batteries, agreed to export the waste for free to a battery recycling plant in France.

There is no current data from battery manufacturers and distributors on the quantity of batteries sold here.

The SEC said that despite its repeated requests, it could get only the 1990 figure, which puts the number of batteries sold here at 53 million.

Figures elsewhere show much higher numbers.

In 1998, more than three billion industrial and household batteries were sold in the United States alone.

The British Battery Manufactures Association estimates that the average household uses 21 batteries a year, while the Oxford Brooks Environmental Information Exchange said that 20,000 tonnes of batteries become landfill each year in Britain.

Countries usually bury the batteries in landfills or incinerate them.

In Germany and some parts of the US, the law requires batteries to be recycled.

The SEC prefers a voluntary approach.

Mr Liew Chee Yin, general manager of Altvater Jakob, which is helping the council to collect the batteries, said his company hopes the project will help to cut down the amount of toxic refuse going to incinerators here.

He said: 'Many consumer products like batteries, through their manufacturing processes or disposal, have an impact on our environment.

'They may cause pollution or deplete our natural resources.'

RECYCLING: It's simple

TO START recycling, just get a box and put used batteries in it. When you have collected enough batteries, you can call the Singapore Environment Council on 6337-6062 for instructions on how to have them collected.