Is 4% enough? It is a good start.

Energizer ECO Advanced battery display, Real Canadian Superstore, Vancouver, BC

Energizer ECO Advanced battery display, Real Canadian Superstore, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

I saw this display at Superstore last week. Eveready has developed the "World's 1st AA Batteries Made With Recycled Batteries". Not a huge percent of the battery's contents are recycled, just 4%, but better than nothing.

Given that AA is by most measures the most common consumer battery in the world, this is probably a good size to introduce this new technology. There are lots of raw materials lying around, and no shortage of customers for new batteries.

Of course the real question is what percentage of batteries actually get recycled? That 4% figure might be about right. I'm sure that in North America, despite the broad availability of recycling programmes, a tiny percentage of batteries are recycled.

According to this website (http://www.mpoweruk.com/recycling.htm) the figure are; 2% for consumer single-use batteries, 5% for consumer rechargable batteries, and 90% for automotive batteries. (And given that automotive batteries are full of lead, that 90% is both a good thing and nowhere near enough.)

So, while 4% is not a lot of recycled content, it is better than nothing and Eveready should be commended for trying.