Over 7,400 kg of portable batteries collected in 3 months involving 15,580 pupils from 77 primary and lower secondary schools throughout Italy. These are the results of the 2023 edition of "Energia al Cubo", the awareness initiative for the correct disposal of used portable batteries promoted in Italian primary schools by Erion Energy, the Erion System Consortium dedicated to the management of battery waste with the collaboration of Ancitel Energia and Environment.
The project, launched in November 2023, aimed to increase the collection rate of portable batteries that have reached the end of their life, leveraging the awareness of the younger generations through a training activity in primary schools of 20 Italian municipalities.
The overall saving is almost 4,000 kg of CO2 (equal to that generated in a year by a forest the size of 560 football fields), 20,660 m3 of water (equal to that present in 8 Olympic swimming pools) and 201 GJ of energy (equal to the average consumption per year of 12 families of 4 people).
The children and their families were able to experience the importance of correct separate collection of portable batteries thanks also to training sessions to learn, through play, the principles of the circular economy. They were also given a "little yellow box" to collect all the used batteries found scattered around the house (like in drawers, for example) and then take them to school.
"Energia al Cubo is the demonstration that a sincere commitment to the environment can give rise to synergies and virtuous actions. For Erion Energy, informing and raising awareness among children and their families is a priority. Not only because too few used batteries are still collected in Italy, but because we believe that it is essential to give a concrete response to the new generations", states Laura Castelli, General Director of Erion Energy.
"Energia al Cubo is a project in which children are the real protagonists right from the start, capable not only of setting a good example, but also of positively influencing the habits of the family and social context in which they find themselves".