Batteries to be recycled.

BRITAIN'S 1.4 million hearing aid wearers throw out up to 50 million batteries for the devices every year.

But almost all of these batteries, worth more than pounds 30 million, end up in household waste, adding to Britain's 20,000-tonne battery mountain, the weight of 110 jumbo jets.

Now new European plans mean that more batteries will have to be recycled.

The directive, which will become law in September 2008, calls for collection points to be set up when consumers can hand in used batteries.

One hearing aid seller, David Ormerod Hearing Centres, aims to tackle the problem by putting on trial a free hearing aid battery recycling service in eight of its largest city centre outlets, the first scheme of its type to be piloted by a national retailer.

The company believes it will be the first UK retailer to market a rechargeable hearing aid.