Battery Recycling is easy
Battery Recycling
These days it's more important to consider battery recycling since batteries power all sorts of everyday items. Many, if not all, of these batteries can be recycled.Often rechargeable batteries find their way to landfills or even huge garbage dumps in other countries. This is completely unnecessary since so many of them can be easily recycled. One of the added benefits to rechargeable battery recycling is that a variety of resources can be reused, and put to better use. For example, did you know that when you recycle rechargeable batteries, the metal from those batteries is ideal for making not only other batteries, but also golf clubs and even silverware!
“Battery recycling is an important part of protecting the environment,” says Jennifer Childress, Director of Marketing and Communications at Call2Recycle, North America’s only free rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program.
Here in North America, we have a unique opportunity to recycle, since there are 30,000 free drop-off locations for battery recycling through Call2Recycle. It’s even free to become a collection site through Call2Recycle, so stores and co-ops, even civic organizations and clubs have all become active in recycling batteries.
Please, Recycle Battery
Cell phone
Even if your cell phone is still working well, you probably still want the latest model with the most desirable features. In the excitement of a new phone, you shouldn’t just toss your old one out. Not only does the battery recycling will prevent many harsh materials and chemicals from the battery and the phone itself from entering the environment and causing further harm.Call2Recycle makes is very easy to recycle your cell phone battery — AND the cell phone itself. The collection centers that you’ll typically find in stores like Home Depot, Staples and Radio Shack will take the entire cell phone — batteries and the phone and keep it out of the landfill. So you can feel good about battery recycling when you recycle your cell phone.
In addition, you might check with your local hazard waste facility. They often take cell phones — and the phone batteries, too.
Baby monitor
Baby Monitors have made the job of parenting easier (maybe not easy, but certainly easier!). Most every model of baby monitor out there these days uses rechargeable batteries. They are typically good for around one thousand charging cycles and after that will need to be replaced. So battery recycling works here, too.Toys
Unlike the past, where we encouraged kid’s creativity with stout wooden blocks and other toys that didn’t need battery power, most modern toys are dependent on batteries for their very life blood, so to speak, and battery recycling is more important than ever. If you use new batteries in those toys, or even if the toy contains rechargeable batteries, you’ll have to get rid of those batteries eventually. Once again, don’t take the easy way out and simply toss them into the trash. Seek out a collection center and do your part to help keep the natural world, well, natural.Laptop
The most important item in a laptop computer is the battery. Otherwise, we’d never be able to unplug from the electrical outlet and would not be able to have a truly portable computer that works anywhere. When the battery comes to the end of its life, it is often time to upgrade to a new computer anyway. So, it’s important to consider the best way that battery recycling can help to recycle the computer as well.A lot of computer sellers offer programs where they take back the computer and give you some type of credit toward a new laptop. Dell works with Goodwill, and some other manufacturers have programs where you can mail the laptop back in order to dispose of it properly. Apple will also take back old laptops, and even other electronic equipment. They then repurpose it or recycle the components — and there is never a charge to you, the consumer.
In addition to retailers and computer manufacturers, many local hazardous waste facilities are set up very well for people returning or recycling old computers and other electronics pieces. Here's where battery recycling can really help in more ways than we originally thought.
It has never been easier to recycle old batteries — no matter where they came from — and often you can also recycle the device itself as well (cell phone, laptop and other electronics). Many states have passed critical legislation to help encourage consumers and businesses to recycle old batteries. In addition to manufacturer and retail take-back programs, some municipal waste facilities have options for you and many national stores offer free collection centers for services like Call2Recycle.
Battery recycling is simple, easy and you can feel great about your supporting a cleaner, less polluted environment.