Call2Recycle Canada, a national battery collection and recycling organization, and Earth Rangers, a Canadian environmental education group, are expanding a battery recycling education campaign as stewardship groups place increasing emphasis on battery safety and lithium-ion battery handling.
The groups announced in a May release that they are broadening the Battery Blitz program beyond school collection drives with new app-based contests, educational materials, podcast content, a new educational YouTube video and student workbooks distributed through the Earth Rangers Homeroom platform.
The campaign encourages participants to follow a “Collect, Protect, Drop Off” process that includes storing batteries in non-metal containers and taping battery terminals before transport to reduce safety risks.
A 2026 stewardship planning document released by Call2Recycle also outlines campaigns focused on battery-fire prevention and handling procedures for damaged, defective and recalled batteries, including batteries from e-transportation devices.
The Fall 2025 Battery Blitz contest involved more than 80 schools across Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Ontario. Students collectively recycled almost 17,000 kg of batteries during the campaign.
Eliot River Elementary School in Prince Edward Island collected more than 2,500 kg of used batteries to secure the national title for the sixth consecutive year. The school has collected nearly 16,000 kg over six years of participation, according to the groups.
Since launching in 2015, the Battery Blitz initiative has diverted more than 140,000 kg of batteries from landfills.
“Education is key to building strong, lasting recycling habits, especially among younger generations,” said Joe Zenobio, president and CEO of Call2Recycle Canada.
The groups are also expanding direct-to-home participation. The 2026 Battery Blitz Home Edition campaign ran from February through April and collected nearly 75,000 batteries across nine provinces.
The education push also comes as Call2Recycle expands its broader Canadian stewardship network.
Earlier this month, Call2Recycle Canada and Product Care Recycling New Brunswick, a non-profit producer responsibility organization managing regulated recycling programs for products including paint, lighting and alarms, announced a stewardship collaboration agreement in New Brunswick.
The agreement is intended to coordinate recycling operations, collection networks and public education efforts while reducing duplication across regulated recycling streams.
Call2Recycle reported collecting more than 8 million kg of batteries in 2025, its highest annual total, and says it has recycled more than 60 million kg of batteries in Canada since launch.
Call2Recycle operates provincially approved battery recycling programs in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Yukon, while serving as a registered producer responsibility organization in Ontario and Alberta.
