Rayovac announces global movement to mercury-free
Sustainability
On 2017 World Environment Day (5 June) Rayovac announced becoming the first of the leading hearing aid battery manufacturers to cease mercury usage from all of its products worldwide.
The decision to remove mercury from all of its hearing aid batteries globally follows on from Rayovac’s transition to mercury free in Europe in October 2015, in compliance with the European Battery Directive 2006/66/EU. Now, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Rayovac’s other global markets are set to benefit.
Mercury is traditionally used as a stabilising ingredient in batteries, but brings with it an environmental risk. Removing it means less harmful ingredients are used in the production process and this in turn reduces the amount of environmental exposure to mercury.
The journey towards Rayovac’s full mercury conversion began well over a decade ago. In a bid to lead the way on cleaner, more sustainable manufacturing, the company has continuously invested in research, development and the manufacturing process, to enable the global switch to the highest quality mercury-free products.
The conversion is predicted to be complete in June 2017 and is part of the company’s continued commitment to sustainability through a number of environmental initiatives, including introducing organic materials to their electrolyte formulation and 100% recyclable packaging materials.
Glen Rutherford, General Manager at Rayovac MicroPower, said: “At Rayovac, we have invested heavily into the research and development of mercury-free for more than a decade. Our new, long-lasting mercury-free range comes coupled with the same guarantees of a premium performance that our customers have long come to expect. Customer service is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re working closely with our customers to ensure the transition process runs as smoothly as possible.”
Source: Rayovac
