Battery Recycling

Most of us recognize the importance of recycling paper, plastic and glass, but forget about recycling batteries. That less than 5% of batteries get recycled proves the point. That figure should be much, much higher, as recycling batteries is no more difficult that recycling anything else. So, if you are not currently recycling the batteries that you use, the question is – why not?

Some people say that recycling batteries is too difficult or inconvenient, but that is no more than an excuse, and a poor one at that. Lots of supermarkets have recycling points for batteries, and you can also find them in some libraries and schools. All you have to do is take your batteries and drop them in a box. Not hard, right? If you cannot think of anywhere in your local area that recycles batteries than do a quick search on Google for ‘recycle batteries + the name of your town’.

Let’s now look at the most common battery types in a bit more detail…

Button batteries :  These batteries, which are used in watches and hearing aids amongst other things, can have the mercury-oxide and silver-oxide reclaimed from them. This means that not only are there environmental benefits but there are economic ones too. For this reason, jewelers and pharmacies are happy to take these expired batteries from you because they can actually make some money from them.

Car batteries : These are probably the worst types of batteries for the environment, but they are also very recyclable. The plastic components can be melted down and used to make new plastic products and the lead can be used to make new batteries. You can take your used car batteries to most car battery sellers, who are obliged by law in most countries to recycle them.

Household batteries : It is a shame that these batteries, which are the most common type (used in children’s toys, clocks, torches, etc.), cannot really be used for anything else once they have run out, however, that does not mean that you should not take them to a battery recycling point. They need to be properly disposed of to avoid causing damage to the environment, and the only way that can happen is if the chemicals are drained from them before they are disposed of.

Read On : Recycling Batteries