KINGSTON electronic waste recycling facility Substation 33 is spreading the circular economy message with a coffee van running on old laptop batteries.
The van, which features more than 1000 recycled laptop cells and 13 solar panels, was built by volunteers at the recycling business over the course of a few months.
PowerWells co-founder Brad Clair, who works closely with Substation 33, said many people were unaware old laptop batteries could be used to make a new battery.
"They also don't know about all the solar panels and stuff that are coming off roofs, but are still perfectly OK to use,"
"Typically in a battery, you will have six 18650 cells, which are kind of like double AA batteries.
"What happens is, one or two of them die, which essentially makes an entire battery pack useless.
"When you pull them all apart, you can test one and take out the remaining good cells."
Substation 33 is using recycled materials on several projects, including charging stations, electric bikes - which also use recycled laptop batteries - and 3D printers.
"A lot of companies, individuals and schools bring their old e-waste here, and then there is an opportunity for people to learn some new skills," Mr Clair said.
"We get a lot of laptop batteries that come through here."
The coffee trailer is capable of powering the average two-bedroom home.
It has been taken to different community events and will be used to give YMCA hospitality students work experience.
"It was made by some of the volunteers here (at Substation 33)," Mr Clair said. "We taught them how to do it, and they did the rest and assembled it themselves."
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