That's about three years of batteries I've used and accumulated over the years. Most of our daily-use devices are powered by rechargeable batteries, but clocks, LED closet lighting, and a few other units are powered by good ole copper tops. They eventually are retired and stored in a glass jar; I finally hit the top, so it's now time to properly dispose of these acid filled mini-hazardous waste containers properly instead of the trash can....
If you're disposing rechargeable batteries, good news, you can just walk into a Best Buy and drop them off into their tech recycling bins usually in the front entrance. But if you've a collection of single use dry cell batteries, you'll want to abide by your specific state laws (here in California, under the California Universal Waste Rule, household batteries are considered hazardous waste and cannot be put into the trash because of their mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel content).
So where to go with your big bag of batteries? Here in Los Angeles, you might be surprised to find some County Public Library will take and properly dispose of batteries. There are also mobile Household Hazardous Waste Events alongside a permanent center operated by the City of Los Angeles.
Better yet, here are some retail stores and businesses which can take your batteries the next time you're shopping...or even getting your oil changed:
- Home Depot (call your nearby location to check if they accept)
- Best Buy
- Jiffy Lube
- Target Stores
- B & B Hardware
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Hey thanks, I'm keeping this. I also have boxes of rechargeable batteries. Not good, one time I opened up an old defunct camera and saw green-bluish powder oozing out of it. That's battery acid, kids. Not good to let that stuff sit.
Some consumer groups estimate most people's old cell phones are sitting in a drawer somewhere. Considering the slavery and harmful mining for cell materials, it's good to turn those in so the cell phone materials can be reused.
(Slavery is probably the wrong word but it's social injustice in any case).
Another great resource local to me (Boston, MA area) is local Ace Hardware stores. They're national and many of them will take batteries to recycle, along with many other household items that need specialized disposal.
In Los Angeles, most Whole Foods I've been to, and several "normal" grocery stores, have a battery recycling bin placed at the entrance.
Similar to Emmi above, I saved a bunch of dead batteries in my desk drawer. After a few months, I discovered they had leaked out a gooey, bubbly, sticky mess that freaked me out. I wouldn't recommend hanging onto dead batteries for a long period of time.
So true, Emmi, on the cell phones! I can't for the life of me remember where I saw this statistic, but only 8% of cell phones get recycled. That article also pointed out that the average person upgrades their phone every 3-4 years...
According to NPD Group, a government sponsored market analysis company, $144 Billion each year is spent on consumer electronics in the US.
Holy cow.
I wonder why batteries are considered hazardous waste in CA but not MD.
Single use batteries haven't had mercury in them since 1996. In Vermont you can chuck them in with your regular trash as they are not considered hazardous waste.
Breamarie, California has the strictest environmental standards in the country, so where MD would let something slip through the cracks, CA won't.
I've found that keeping used batteries in plastic bags causes them to leak faster.