How Afis collects and recycles batteries
Once the public disposes of their batteries at one of AFIS’s 75,000 battery recycling points, the recycling process begins.
After a collection request is submitted—either by phone at 210 8030244 or online at **https://afis.gr/simeia-syllogis/**—the licensed collectors in each region are immediately mobilised to pick up the batteries from the location.
The first stop is Aspropyrgos, where the batteries are stored and sorted according to their chemical composition and type.
They are then transported to approved recycling facilities in Greece or abroad, where the raw materials are safely recovered, the battery components are separated, and the materials are reintegrated into product manufacturing.
Examples of products made from recycled battery materials—such as metals—include new batteries, scissors, bicycles, and even airplanes.
Recycling of Alkaline Batteries
Empty batteries are sorted according to their chemistry and type.
The recycling process begins with the manual feeding of a reciprocating feeder that pushes the batteries onto a conveyor belt, directing them to a vibrating sorting screen.
By gravity, the batteries fall onto another conveyor, where workers manually remove battery types for which suitable processing infrastructure does not yet exist in Greece (lithium & nickel-metal hydride).
Once the batteries have been separated by chemical type, alkaline batteries are directed for crushing and shredding.
The shredded batteries enter an inverted pyramid and are carried by an elevator to the hammer mill.
Inside the hammer mill, the battery fragments are further broken down into even smaller pieces (less than 10 mm in diameter) so they can pass through the appropriate sieve.
A screw conveyor then transfers the battery powder to a sorting screen, where materials (paper, plastic, black mass) are separated and placed into appropriate packaging.
Metals are separated on the final magnetic conveyor belt.
Battery Recycling Facts
- To recycle batteries correctly, remember the word AFIS in greek lanquage — backwards!
- S — (Συγκεντρώνουμε) / Gather the batteries from devices as soon as they are empty
- H — (Η κάθε μπαταρία μπορεί να είναι μέχρι 5 κιλά) / Each battery may weigh up to 5 kg
- F — (Φροντίζουμε να βρούμε τον κοντινότερο κάδο) / Find the nearest recycling bin
- A — (Ανακυκλώνουμε στα 75.000 σημεία) / Recycle at one of the 75,000 AFIS points
- Facts
- From 2027, consumers will be able to remove and replace the portable batteries in their electronic devices at any time, according to EU regulations. Regardless of use, performance, or battery material, the end-of-life disposal process determines environmental and health impacts.
- 90% of harmful battery emissions are released when the recommended recycling process via AFIS bins is not followed.
- Recycling is the most effective and safest way to treat batteries as waste—compared to composting, landfilling, or incineration.
- Recovering metals through battery recycling consumes less energy than extracting them from the earth and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 10–100 times.
