People in Sudbury can now dispose of their used batteries in this outdoor bin

People in Sudburyhave a new way to safely dispose of their spent batteries thanks to a partnership between the city and a company based in southern Ontario.

Environmental 360 Solutions has had battery disposal containers at the city's public library branches for several years, but now the company has set up a high-tech disposal container outside, at a busy intersection. The container is located at the intersection of Paris and York Streets.

Andrew Horsman, the company's vice-president of sustainability, says it's one of 10 prototypes they've deployed in municipalities across Ontario.

The container is made of steel made to withstand the elements. It has built-in wireless monitoring to alert Environmental 360 Solutions when it's full and has integrated fire suppression in case of a battery fire.

"We've been using steel containers for over 20 years and we have never had a thermal incident," Horsman said.

"But there is always a risk and we're always looking at ensuring the maximum threshold for safety. That's what we've deployed in this new unit."

When the container is full,Horsman said Environmental 360 Solutions empties it and transports the batteries to the company'sfacility in Port Colborne, Ont.

At that facility, he says his firm is able to recycle around 85 per cent of the materials in the battery.

Horsman says battery recycling rates have gone down in recent years, but he hopes making it more accessible will improve that.

"Having an outdoor container really gives people even easier 24/7 access to be able to drop their batteries off and know that they're going to get responsibly recycled," he said.

Horsman says it's important to recycle dead batteries because it keeps their chemicals out of the environment and contributes to sustainability.