Battery campaign all positive
A NEW KIWI INITIATIVE WAS RECOGNISED AT THE Australian Auto Aftermarket Awards (AAAA) held in Melbourne in early April.
Bapcor New Zealand won the Most Innovative Community Impact Programme for its Gumboot Friday scrap battery collection campaign.
In the lead-up to last November’s Gumboot Friday, which raises funds for Mike King’s I Am Hope charity, Bapcor put out the call it would be collecting scrap batteries for recycling. The $200,000 raised from the collection is now supporting mental health programmes in New Zealand.
“Through our 250 sites [BNT, HCB, Battery Town, Shock Shop, Precision Equipment, Autolign, NZ Brake Co, Diesel Distributors, Truck and Trailer Parts, JAS Oceania] we put the call out for scrap batteries,” says Greg Wards, Channel Manager for the Battery Town Network.
“I think that’s what made it successful. It was easy for people to drop off scrap batteries,” says Greg.
“Another reason the initiative was so successful was because it resonated with Bapcor customers and the public alike.
“We also phoned up our larger trade customers including Fonterra, Mainfreight, Scania and Southpac Trucks who contributed large amounts of scrap batteries. Mainfreight helped out with free transport to get the batteries to Dominion Traders in Auckland.
“We were blown away by the amount we received. We ended up with about 200,000kg of scrap batteries, so as well as supporting mental health there was also an `environmental health’ aspect to the campaign.”
The batteries were shipped to battery recyclers in South Korea. “Understandably, Bapcor is proud of this achievement, and more so because the significant money collected is going to such a worthy cause which is already making a difference for those in need,” says Greg.
T&D