“Bring 1 Battery, Save 8 Tons of Soil!”

Waste Battery Collection Campaign

Batteries are classified as hazardous waste due to the toxic and heavy metals they contain. Unfortunately, approximately 7–8 tons of waste batteries are discarded into household waste every day in Türkiye.
Research shows that a single waste battery disposed of in nature can contaminate 8 tons of soil and 600,000 liters of water, posing a serious threat to our sustainable environmental goals.

For this reason, as Manisa Metropolitan Municipality, we aim to:

• Draw attention to the environmental damage caused by waste batteries and raise public awareness.
• Prevent the disposal of batteries in household waste and increase the rate of separate collection of hazardous waste.

To promote Zero Waste principles and raise awareness for a sustainable future, we are organizing an award-winning waste battery collection campaign under the slogan “Bring 1 Battery, Save 8 Tons of Soil!”

This campaign aims to prevent toxic waste batteries from contaminating the environment and to protect both soil and groundwater resources, in full alignment with the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) principles of prevention, reduction, and reuse.

Used batteries contain mercury, cadmium, lead, and zinc, which pose serious risks to both the environment and human health. A single AA battery can pollute up to 8 cubic meters of soil and contaminate hundreds of thousands of liters of water.

With this awareness, our campaign focuses on the following objectives:

• Raising Awareness: Educating citizens—especially children and young people—about the environmental hazards of waste batteries.
• Protecting Nature: Ensuring the safe collection of waste batteries to protect soil and water resources.
• Supporting the Circular Economy: Promoting the recycling of collected batteries through collaboration with the Portable Battery Producers and Importers Association (TAP).
• Spreading a Culture of Waste Reduction: Encouraging the use of rechargeable batteries to reduce single-use products.

Each participant who delivers 1 kg of waste batteries will receive 1 olive sapling as a gift.

This event is not only a collection activity but also an awareness movement that promotes a culture of waste reduction and strengthens environmental consciousness.
As the city of Manisa, we aim to make a strong contribution to the European Week for Waste Reduction through this campaign.

Throughout the event, photos will be taken with our environmental volunteers who bring their waste batteries, and these moments will be shared on the Municipality’s official social media accounts.

A small step can make a big difference — let’s join hands for nature!

The final stop of our campaign will be Akhisar district.
On Friday, November 28, between 09:00 and 17:00, a waste battery collection stand will be set up in front of the Akhisar Municipality Building.
A total of 250 olive saplings have been allocated for this district.
The event in Akhisar will mark the conclusion of the campaign.