Turning big, old batteries into cash

When Ian Jury saw a heap of big, old batteries had been dumped at his front gate, he was over the moon.

That is, until he went out to move them around the back and found they had gone.

The 82-year-old does not know who left the batteries for him, and he doesn’t know who nicked them.

Jury collects old tractor, farm bike, and motorbike batteries – any type of old battery. He on-sells them to a recycling place and gives the money to the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter.

So far he has raised more than $20,000 for the chopper. And that’s on top of the $12,000 he raised for the Waitara Coastal Marching Club a few years ago when he had two granddaughters in the sport. It all began when one of his mates at Tikorangi sold his farm, he said.

‘‘He had a heap of batteries and I said ‘what are you going to do with them?’ They were spread around the farm. I ended up with about 18 batteries from one farm and I carried on from there.’’

The price he gets for the batteries varies. Some are worth about $20 and other smaller ones like a motorbike battery may only be worth a couple of dollars.

He picks up the batteries in his little Nissan Navaro truck and keeps them in the back paddock until he can fill the back of the truck – maybe 75 or 80 – and then goes and cashes them in. He reckons one truckload is worth about $800.

‘‘I know all the farms, so I know all the roads. I’ll do a circuit and pick up 15, 18 batteries.’’

‘‘I had six batteries dropped at the gate, but I don’t know who they are, so I can’t thank them because I didn’t see them.’’

Sometimes he exchanges vegetables from his garden for batteries; other times it’s kiwifruit.

‘‘I have a daughter over in Te Puna. She lives right alongside the kiwi pack house and I go over there and load my car up with reject kiwifruit.

‘‘If you help me with batteries I’ll give you a supermarket bag of kiwifruit.’’

‘‘I know all the farms, so I know all the roads. I’ll do a circuit and pick up 15, 18 batteries.’’ Ian Jury

And now Jury’s looking for more batteries. ‘‘Whether you have one or 101’’, he will pick them up.

Jury, who owned the butcher’s shop in Urenui way back in the day, said he has always tried to help people. ‘‘Makes you feel good, doesn’t it.’’

Anyone with batteries to donate can contact Jury on 06 755 4675.

Jury collects any type of old battery.