Environmental Protection
A transport vehicle contains components such as fuel, air, and oil filters; shock absorbers; oils; coolant; brake fluid; lead batteries; brake pads; electronic equipment; and more. All resulting parts, materials, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste must be sorted, reused, and recycled to help prevent waste and must not be disposed of with household rubbish.
Currently, a major concern for manufacturers is limiting the use of harmful substances in vehicle production. It is important to ensure that materials used in manufacturing do not pose a risk to the environment or human health. This applies not only to the manufacturing and use of the vehicle but also to its later recycling stages. Vehicle manufacturers aim to use as many recycled materials as possible, including bioplastics and similar materials.
Lead-acid batteries must be collected and recycled so that all the materials they contain can be reused. Batteries should never be taken apart by hand. Lead-acid batteries are considered hazardous waste because they contain many dangerous chemicals. When old batteries are not handled properly—during decay or if the battery case is damaged—hazardous substances can leak into the environment. These toxic substances can pollute groundwater, poison soil and plants, and harm human health. Exposure to heavy metals and other pollutants can increase the risk of skin infections, cancer, respiratory problems, and disorders of the circulatory, immune, and nervous systems.
Battery waste must be collected separately: batteries and used accumulators should be placed in dedicated collection containers, barrels, boxes, or other appropriate bins. Disposal of hazardous waste with unsorted household waste is prohibited and regulated by law. Operated battery waste collection, processing, and recycling systems ensure that used batteries are collected, sorted, and recycled properly. Consumers can return used batteries and accumulators to a waste handler or take them to a specially marked collection point. Waste is collected from consumers free of charge and should be placed only in labeled containers made for this purpose. Battery and accumulator waste can also be taken to municipal waste sites or hazardous waste collection points. For information on collection points and recycling, contact your local environmental department, battery retailers, the Environment Agency website, or other official publications.
This symbol, found on batteries and accumulators, means these items must be collected and disposed of separately, not with regular unsorted waste.
Proper sorting, collection, and recycling of battery waste help protect the environment and conserve natural resources. Under UK and EU regulations, batteries and accumulators containing lead must be collected and recycled so that all resulting materials—such as lead, plastic, sulphuric acid, and other chemicals—can be safely reused wherever possible.
When handed over to licensed waste handlers, most of these materials are returned to the market and used in new products. Any parts that cannot be recycled are disposed of safely, preventing harm to people and nature. By correctly collecting and recycling old batteries, we save valuable raw materials and keep the environment clean for future generations.
You can also drop off used lead batteries for free at our location: Pakalnės g. 5B, Domeikava, Kaunas district.
For more information:
Improper waste management is harmful to both public health and the environment. Modern lifestyle habits and a culture of overconsumption are generating ever-greater volumes of waste, much of which is not handled properly. This leads to pollution of the air, land, and water, and causes lasting damage to nature and people’s health. That’s why responsible waste management is now one of the most important things we can do to protect our communities.
If we fail to sort and properly handle packaging and other waste, the UK could become one large landfill in just a few decades.
It’s important to sort waste where it is generated and seek to recycle or reuse as much as possible. This helps protect the environment and conserves natural resources.
For example:
Used tyres can pollute our environment for centuries, as they decompose extremely slowly. Waste tyres left in woodlands, ditches, or on riverbanks not only spoil the scenery but can also cause fires. As tyres are petroleum-based products, burning them releases hazardous substances into the air—substances linked to lung, heart, and circulatory diseases.
Rubber, the main component in tyres, retains its properties long after a tyre’s usable life ends. This means it’s practical to recycle tyres by separating the rubber from the metal and textile materials. The resulting rubber granules can be used for asphalt, playground surfaces, parking protectors, and many other products.
Worn-out tyres can also be used as an energy source. For example, in Lithuania, tyres are burned in special furnaces with filters to neutralise harmful emissions, and the resulting ash is then used to manufacture cement.
It is strictly forbidden to dispose of used tyres with household or other unsorted waste, or to burn them.
You can return old tyres free of charge to tyre retailers when you’re buying new ones (the quantity returned should match the number purchased and the type of vehicle). Residents can also bring old tyres to council-run bulky waste collection sites. See the list here: https://am.lrv.lt
You can take up to 4 car tyres per year to your local council waste site free of charge. Before visiting, check which types of waste are accepted, as each site’s policy may differ. Visit during official opening hours. Information about waste sites—including addresses and accepted materials—is available on local authority and Environment Ministry websites.
Used oil, fuel, and air filters from vehicles are particularly hazardous. If disposed of incorrectly, these items can harm both the environment and human health.
Car oil and fuel filters contain metal, oil, fuel residues, and filter elements. Oil alone contains roughly a third of the periodic table: copper, zinc, heavy metals. Improper disposal can contaminate large areas of soil, leach into groundwater, and pollute rivers and even drinking water supplies. Burning these filters can release heavy metals and cancer-causing agents into the air, leading to respiratory diseases. Mixing these with other waste streams is strictly prohibited.
Most harmful substances are released during the metal processing stage rather than through natural decomposition. Metal can be recycled indefinitely without losing its properties, and recycling uses far less energy than extracting new metal from ore.
Residents can give their used filters to licensed waste handlers.
Our company works with registered waste management providers specialized in handling fuel, oil, air filters, and other hazardous and non-hazardous automotive waste.
If you have your vehicle serviced, you can leave these waste items with the workshop.
You may also take used filters to council bulky-waste sites. See the full list here: https://am.lrv.lt
When fuel and oil filters are recycled, the recovered metal and oil, and plastic or filter materials from air filters, are all reused. Oil is regenerated or incinerated. Recycled oil can be used again as high-quality base oil or re-refined for other purposes, including engine lubricant. Reprocessing used oil saves energy—re-refining requires only a third of the energy it takes to process crude oil. All other recovered materials (metal, plastic) are also reused in new products.
New metal production is highly energy-intensive and emits greenhouse gases, a leading contributor to climate change. Recycling metal from used filters conserves resources, reduces emissions, and saves energy.
Waste oil includes all mineral, semi-synthetic, or synthetic lubricating or industrial oil that is no longer usable. Just one litre of waste oil can pollute a million litres of water and cover one hectare of surface water! When mixed with water, oil forms an emulsion that can harm aquatic wildlife and plants, and cut off the oxygen supply to soil organisms.
Heavy metals in used oil can damage the nervous system, kidneys, and cause cancer. These metals accumulate slowly in the body, so the health effects can take years to appear.
It is illegal to dispose of waste oil with household or any other unsorted waste. Burning hazardous waste oil in stoves or open fires is banned, as this releases cancer-causing substances and pollutants linked to serious illnesses.
Burning oil is only permitted in specially equipped, licensed facilities with specialist filters regularly maintained as hazardous materials.
Pouring waste oil into drains, onto the ground, or into water bodies can contaminate large areas, threaten groundwater, rivers, and drinking water.
You must not give waste oil to any person or company not licensed to dispose of it.
Recycled oil can become high-quality base oil, and it can be re-refined for reuse in engines. Processing used oil saves energy—re-refining takes only a third of the energy compared to production from crude oil.
Individuals and companies should give their waste oil to a licensed waste management company.
Our company cooperates only with licensed providers for waste oil and all other hazardous or non-hazardous waste.
If you service your vehicle at a garage, you can leave used oil for them to handle.
End-of-life vehicle batteries contain many hazardous chemicals. Under EU rules, batteries containing lead must be collected and recycled to recover reusable materials like lead, plastic, sulfuric acid, and antimony.
Improperly handled batteries leak hazardous chemicals, including heavy metals and electrolytes, into the environment. Lead is considered a top-level toxin. It can enter the body via inhalation, swallowing dust, or ingestion, and accumulates in the system, eventually causing nerve damage, insomnia, headaches, and irritability. Sulfuric acid from batteries is also dangerous and can cause respiratory issues and tissue damage.
Spilled battery acid can kill all plants in an area, and, if it seeps through soil, contaminate crops and water.
Car batteries may not be disposed of alongside household or other unsorted waste. Removing the casing or dismantling batteries yourself is forbidden. Hand over batteries intact to prevent leaks.
Lead-acid batteries must be collected in special containers marked for battery collection.
Waste handling companies then process these batteries, making new batteries from recovered lead and plastic, and using the treated acid for industrial purposes like fertilizer manufacture.
You can hand over used car batteries to licensed waste handlers, or leave them with us—we will ensure proper, legal disposal. Our company only works with registered hazardous and non-hazardous waste firms.
You can drop batteries and accumulators off for free at council-run bulky waste sites. A detailed list is here: https://am.lrv.lt
Before visiting a waste site, check which materials are accepted, as each location has different rules. Information on opening hours and accepted items is available from your local council and the Environment Ministry.
If you have servicing or repair work done, you may leave used batteries with the garage.
Used shock absorbers are hazardous because of their oil content. This oil may contain heavy metals and other harmful compounds. When dumped, these items contaminate soil and groundwater, threatening rivers and drinking water sources. If seals fail, the absorber loses pressure and function. Shock absorbers are made mostly of metal, oil, and rubber.
Recycling shock absorbers uses much less energy than creating new ones from raw materials. Used shock absorbers may not be mixed with household or unsorted waste.
Recycling recovers metal, oil, and rubber. Oil can be regenerated for use as high-quality lubricant, or processed into a less polluting furnace fuel. Recycling used oil saves energy—the process requires only a third of the energy needed to make oil from crude.
Recycling the metal also saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, helping to limit climate change and resource use.
Used shock absorbers can be given to licensed waste handlers.
If you use a vehicle service or repair company, you can leave these parts there for correct disposal. For a map of responsible garages, visit www.esuatsakingas.lt.
You may also take old shock absorbers to council-run bulky waste sites. A detailed list is here: www.am.lt. Always check what each site accepts before you go. Full details are available from your local council or the Environment Ministry.
Packaging waste is a valuable alternative to raw materials. Sorting and recycling packaging reduces environmental impact, saves resources, and supports manufacturing. It is vital to separate packaging from other waste, sort it correctly, and reuse where possible—this keeps the environment clean and conserves natural resources.
UK law requires packaging and product waste to be properly sorted, not disposed of with unsorted household rubbish. Only by sorting can we recycle more and reduce pollution.
You can dispose of packaging waste by using public recycling containers (yellow for plastics and metal, green for glass, blue for paper), taking it to recycling points, or returning deposit-return packaging to stores.
Packaging symbols explained
Most packaging shows symbols to help you sort waste more easily. The triangle of three arrows indicates recyclability. Numbers inside the triangle specify the material (1–19 for plastic, 20–39 for paper and cardboard, 40–49 for metal, 50–59 for wood, 60–69 for textiles, 70–79 for glass).
This information is based on requirements for public education and information regarding waste subject to producer responsibility, as set out by the Lithuanian Ministry of Environment, Order D1-554 of 28 June 2012.