A Battery of Recycling Options

If you have alkaline batteries, DON'T throw them away! They can be recycled, and this keeps hazardous materials out of the waste stream.

Think about this factoid: for every ton of products manufactured, 70 tons of waste are typically generated. That's a huge carbon footprint, but it can be offset a little if you take steps to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Try getting charged up with rechargeable batteries. They're cheaper than they used to be, and they work!

Recent stats I heard at a battery workshop: rechargeables can last 52 weeks or longer, depending upon use, while alkalines might last two to four weeks. I bought three sets of rechargeables and a charger over a year ago, and they're still going strong. These batteries are used all the time, via rotation, in my digital camera and mouse at work.

At the battery workshop last week I also found out that Radio Shack takes back batteries, for free, any brand. At Costco recently I just happened to notice a poster about their battery take back program.

Another benefit to RECHARGEABLES is that they can be RECYCLED for FREE via the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, www.rbrc.org.

You can reduce your battery dependency by using products which don't require them. My solar-powered lantern worked out great during a power outage, and my hand-squeezed flashlight is always ready to use, without batteries.

Anyway, www.earth911.org has good info about batteries also.

"There are many ways to properly dispose of batteries, most of which depends on the type of battery you have. You can also reduce waste with prevention. Starting with prevention creates less or no leftover waste to become potentially hazardous. There are a few easy ways to reduce household battery waste.

Check to see if you already have the batteries on hand before buying more

When suited to the task buy hand operated items that function without batteries

Look for the batteries that have less mercury and heavy metals

Consider rechargeable batteries for some needs, but remember that they also contain heavy metals such as nickel-cadmium.

Battery recycling and reuse, through rechargable batteries and long lasting batteries, can make a positive impact towards our reduction of battery waste and pollution. To get more info on Batteries and their role in keeping the earth clean, visit our Earth 911 Battery Resources page.