So I’m off roaming around the interwebs and was checking in on my weekly One Small Act progress (you do know about One Small Act app, right*) and bumped into the top ten list of small actions people did last year to be more green in their daily lives. One of them was to recycle used batteries.
I am very vigilant about saving old batteries and locating a place to recycle them (my town has a bi-yearly electronics and battery recycling day). Batteries have heavy metals in them (think mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel) and when they are thrown into the trash they leach and pollute our ground and water supplies. This is horrible for our environment. Think of the billions of batteries purchased each year – and where their old counterparts go … into landfills.
Every year, each person in the US disposes of 8 batteries. Batteries contribute about 88 percent of the total mercury and 50 percent of the cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream according to the EPA. How can we make a difference? Recycle them! And if you live in New York or California, it’s against the law to throw out those old rechargeable batteries!!!
Now recycling them is easier said than done because most town recycling programs do not accept batteries. But have no fear, here are some easy ways to find recycling programs for your batteries from CalRecycle:
- Rechargeable Battery and Cell Phone Drop-Off Locator – Find where to recycle used rechargeable batteries from the Call2Recycle Web site.
- Earth911.com – or call 1-800-CLEANUP (1-800-253-2687), a service of Earth 911, to find the nearest recycling center. Includes information about most recyclable household waste, including household hazardous waste collection centers.
- eRecycle.org – Recycle your batteries and electronics.
- Where Can I Recycle My…? – Call 1-800-CLEAN-UP (253-2687) or enter your ZIP code at this Web site to find the nearest recycling center. Includes information about most recyclable household waste, including household hazardous waste collection centers.
- Local Governmental Household Hazardous Waste Agencies – See the website for your local governmental household hazardous waste agency for the latest information in your area.
So don’t trash those old batteries, recycle them! It’s super important they don’t end up in a landfill AND it’s against the law in some states!
* Disclosure: I work as a freelancer for NBC Universal’s Green is Universal division where I represent them on their social media channels as well as assist them with One Small Act promotions.
Green Parenting is published every Friday. If you have any questions or would like to shoot me an email, you can reach me at [email protected].
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