As a committed Green Fins member, we have for a long time offered to collect people’s used batteries to ensure they get disposed of properly. However we quickly realised that there is no proper recycling facility for these batteries in the Philippines; and when Matt tried to carry 5kg of used batteries out of the country to have them recycled in Europe, they were taken off him at the airport.
As a result we now try to explain to guests that it is much better for them to bring their used batteries back to their home country by themselves. It’s basically just taking responsibility for your own garbage and not dumping it on Malapascua when you’re done with it!
Last year we changed all our rental dive lights over to rechargeable batteries as part of our drive to be more environmentally friendly and produce less waste, especially batteries. We have also changed all the batteries in our room mini safes to rechargeable ones, and this year we have decided to stop offering single use batteries for sale to guests for their cameras and other devices.
Instead we are now offering rechargeable batteries from Panasonic, so guests can still keep their devices powered up, but protect the environment at the same time. We have 2 choices, the standard white Eneloop batteries which are good for all devices, can be recharged over 2,100 times, and should last more than 5 years.
The other version is the grey Eneloop Pro, these are specially designed high capacity for long life in high drain devices such as cameras and strobes. These pro batteries will give you upto 800 external strobe flashes per charge, compared to only 400 on a single us battery. So that’s a win for you and for the environment!
Check out our retail section at reception when you’re here for lots of great deals.
