The competition involved collecting as many used or expired batteries as possible and was aimed mainly at preschool children, primary school pupils and lower-secondary school students. Over four months, participants collected 51,550 batteries. Among the preschool children, the best results were achieved by:

  1. Group I from Municipal Public Preschool No. 7 (nearly 5,000 batteries)
  2. Group V from Municipal Public Preschool No. 4 (nearly 4,000 batteries)
  3. Group IV from the branch of Municipal Public Preschool No. 3 (1,400 batteries).

In the best class category, the winners were:

  1. Class IIa from Municipal School Complex No. 1 (more than 7,000 batteries)
  2. Class IVd from Primary School No. 4 (more than 4,000 batteries)
  3. Class IIb from Municipal School Complex No. 1 (nearly 4,000 batteries).

The competition winners will visit Wrocław’s gardens—either the zoological or the botanical garden. The second- and third-place winners, meanwhile, received cinema tickets.

Because batteries are particularly hazardous to the environment—the cells contain, among other substances, mercury, cadmium and lead—they should not be stored with other waste. In 2000, turnover in the global battery-manufacturing market reached approximately 35 billion euros, meaning that around 40 billion cells were produced at that time. What is more, the revenues of battery manufacturers continue to grow. For this reason, the European Parliament supports research into the development of new types of galvanic cells. Battery collection campaigns have been conducted in Poland since 2005.

(UM/GA information)