Monday, October 19, 2009

How Do I Recycle Batteries?

I never used to worry about this before I had kids, but I've noticed that babies seem to come

Various batteries: two 9-volt, two Image via Wikipedia

into the world with batteries. First comes the bouncy seats, then the annoyingly loud push toys. Before you know it you're into remote control cars. But what do you do with all those used up batteries?

I have been throwing mine in the garbage, but was sure that wasn't the best answer. It turns out it is the only answer for dry-cell batteries (9-volt, D, C, AA, and AAA). Recycling these isn't an option unless you live in California, but that doesn't mean there aren't other choices you can make as a consumer. This might be a good thing to consider since Americans purchase 3 billion dry-cell batteries each year!

Rechargeable batteries are the best option. My family does have a few sets of these, but we tend not to use them - probably because they're buried in the back of a cupboard behind the AA batteries that we're usually looking for. Now I'm going to dig them out and start using them again. Rechargeable batteries last a long time (and will save you money and energy), but they do eventually wear out. The good news is that they can be recycled.

For more info, check out the Battery Recycling and Disposable Guide for Households from Environmental Health and Safety Online.

1 comment:

  1. interesting but how do middle school kids recycle batteries?

    ReplyDelete