Designed to unite the music and theatre industries in a move to rechargeable battery systems, Julie’s Bicycle launched its UK-wide Better Batteries campaign at Plasa 2011.
The camaign highlights the ‘green’ advantage of using rechargeable batteries, particularly for portable sound equipment, and hopes to promote recycling of both disposable and rechargeable batteries. Focused on venues and individual productions, the campaign is backed by scientific research and case studies from commercial theatre productions that prove the reliability of the technology, environmental benefits and cash savings available.
Broadway theatre productions already using rechargeable batteries have made significant financial savings, after being encouraged to use rechargeable battery systems by a highly successful Broadway Green Alliance campaign. The production of Wicked on Broadway has been using nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries since October 2008, maling savings of more than US$4,300 (£2,600) per year by replacing the 15,808 disposable used batteries per year (38 per show) to a tiny 76 rechargeable batteries per year. The West End production of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre followed in June 2011, will break even on the purchase of their rechargeable battery system after 15 weeks. So far, the saving ahs been more than 2,500 batteries, equivalent to more than £500.
‘With the help of our sound department, Wicked led the way for the Broadway community to keep batteries out of landfill,’ says Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of Wicked and Co-chair of the Broadway Green Alliance. ‘By using rechargeable sleds, and devising a rotation method as part of preshow maintenance, we were able to eliminate single-usage of AA-sized batteries for our wireless microphones. And when sound engineers around town were skeptical that rechargeable batteries could meet the needs of a Broadway show, and reliably hold an adequate charge, our sound engineers were able to show them empirical evidence that they not only could do the job, but could save their employers a considerable amount of money as a result. We are proud that we were able to set the example three years ago, and we continue to assist shows in NY and around the world in making the same transition.’
‘Rechargeable batteries make financial and environmental sense, and as our case studies show, they’re completely reliable,’ says Sian Alexander, Associate Director of Theatre at Julie’s Bicycle. ‘If they can work for a major West End show there’s no reason we can’t use them across the theatre and music industries. I hope this campaign will help to encourage a widespread shift in practice.’
The environmental benefits associated with using rechargeable batteries and recycling after use include less pressure on natural resources, less pollution from the manufacturing process, less waste created and less carbon emissions resulting from transport and distribution, due to a decrease in the quantity of products being manufactured. Research by UNIROSS (2007) has supported this by showing that throughout their life cycle rechargeable batteries have 32 times less impact on the environment than disposable batteries.
Better Batteries also aims to increase battery recycling rates in the UK, in line with Government regulation. In 2009, only ten per cent of batteries were recycled in the UK and in February 2010 regulation was put in place requiring this to increase to 18 per cent in 2011 and 45 per cent by 2016. Recycling batteries is crucial to reuse finite natural resources and prevent the release of harmful chemicals such as lead, mercury or cadmium.
Organisations, companies and individuals can sign up to Better Batteries via the campaign website, where information and advice to assist them switch to recharging and recycling their batteries is freely available.
Julie’s Bicycle wants to hear from organisations using rechargeables, and suppliers offering rechargeable battery systems in order to its develop Better Batteries campaign case studies and the Julie’s Bicycle Green Database of suppliers and environmentally conscious products.
The Better Batteries initiative is echoed in Fast-and-Wide's Battery Power: Is It Green? post, examining the wider use and technologies of batteries.
