Case Study 007

The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town generated approximately 110 half-used batteries per week due to performance safety requirements, leading to a stockpile of 3,000 batteries. WISP established a partnership to redirect these batteries to the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Department and various charities for use in torches, radios, and medical devices. This initiative saves the City of Cape Town R21,000 annually and reduces the extraction of virgin materials. Because South Africa lacks battery recycling operations, spent batteries are sent to the Uniross collection programme for mineral extraction or concrete encapsulation and hazardous landfill disposal. An attempt to switch the theatre to rechargeable batteries was unsuccessful as they did not meet the technical specifications for the microphones.

• The Fugard Theatre accumulated roughly 3,000 half-used batteries because they replace batteries after each show to prevent microphone failure, even when 50% capacity remains.
• WISP facilitated a partnership where the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Department takes all current and future half-used battery stock for use in radios and torches, resulting in an annual saving of R21,000 for the city.
• Due to the absence of battery recycling operations in South Africa, spent batteries are managed via the Uniross programme, where they are either exported for mineral extraction or encapsulated in concrete for hazardous landfill disposal.
• The theatre cannot switch to rechargeable batteries because they do not meet the necessary specifications for the microphones used in their productions.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Case Study 007. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Case Study 007. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Case Study 007 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendcase, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Case Study 007}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }