Recycling Your Common Household Batteries

RECYCLING YOUR COMMON HOUSEHOLD BATTERIES Each year Americans toss more than 3 BILLION batteries in the trash, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states. That's about 180,000 tons of batteries. More than 86,000 tons are from single use alkaline batteries. Most common household batteries are the Dry-Cell batteries: Alkaline and Zinc-Carbon Batteries These are the batteries you typically see used in flashlights, remote controls, and other appliance in and around the home. So what do we do with all of these batteries when they no longer are of service to us? RECYCLE! RECYCLE! RECYCLE! What in batteries makes them so toxic? Batteries hold a lot of heavy metals and toxic chemicals. When batteries are thrown away as trash they end up in landfills and the toxic compounds can leak into soil and water, polluting lakes and streams, making them unsafe for drinking, swimming, fishing and supporting wildlife. Recycling batteries keeps heavy metals out of landfills and in the air. It also saves resources because recovered plastic and metals can be reused to make brand new batteries. Note: Even though batteries can be toxic they are very valuable to running electronics in our community. Just handle them with care and recycle properly. HOW TO RECYCLE BATTERIES The key to responsible electronic waste (e-waste) is having an understanding as to where the batteries will end up. Drop off household batteries at a household hazardous waste (HHW) facility or you can send them to one of the many mail-in or take-back programs that are available. Make sure that the company you send the batteries to aren't sent overseas. Sending garbage overseas endangers workers and releases greenhouse gas emissions. 80% of the world's e-waste is transported to Asia, and most of it winds up in China. Workers come in direct contact with the toxic substances are prone to health risks, reports the Basel Action Network. Sources: http://everyday-green.com/html/battery_statistics.html http://web.mit.edu/scicom/www/battery.html http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/battery.htm#batteryrecycle http://www.nrdc.org/enterprise/greeningadvisor/wm-disposal.asp http://www.nrdc.org/enterprise/greeningadvisor/wm-disposal.asp http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/hhw/batteries/sites.cfm TES ENationalPositions Profitable Internet Marketing Telecom Electric Supply Company