The Baa-ttery Campaign
Join Cumbria’s Baa-ttery Recycling Challenge
Helping schools across Cumbria recycle more batteries and win great prizes.
Every year, an estimated 3.2 million batteries end up in Cumbria’s waste stream – the equivalent weight of 3,650 Herdwick sheep. The Baa-ttery Campaign aims to change that, helping pupils learn about Cumbria battery recycling while protecting the environment.
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What is the Baa-ttery Campaign?
The Baa-ttery Campaign is a fun and educational battery recycling initiative for schools across Cumbria. Led by a friendly sheep mascot, the campaign teaches pupils why recycling batteries matters and how to do it safely.
Batteries should never be placed in household bins. When damaged, they can leak, explode, or cause fires. Recycling them correctly helps keep communities safe and allows valuable metals to be recovered and reused in new products.
How schools can take part
We’ve partnered with Biffa and Valpak Limited to make joining the campaign simple and free for schools.
- Get your free Baa-ttery Box
- Encourage pupils to ‘herd’ their used batteries
- Fill your box and call for collection
It’s a simple way to introduce sustainability and responsible waste habits in the classroom.
The Baa-ttery Recycling Competition
Schools across Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness can compete to collect the most batteries by Christmas.
Prizes available:
- 4 x £300 National Book Token
- 4 x £200 National Book Tokens
- 4 x £100 National Book Tokens
Prizes are generously provided by Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council.
The deadline to collect the most batteries is set for 13 February 2026 and the winners will be announced shortly after.
When batteries are collected, they are first sorted into different types of batteries such as alkaline, lithium, mercury and zinc amongst others. The separate types are recycled to extract the different materials and precious metals, which are then used to make new products, including new batteries. “The collection and recycling of batteries is important, as some of the materials within batteries are hazardous and can become a fire risk when not disposed of correctly. Valpak has supported the responsible management of waste batteries for a number of years through our free battery collection service, so it makes sense for us to partner with Biffa in Cumbria for this campaign.
James Armitage, Head of Procurement at Valpak
