Family, Alkaline, Lithium, and Additional

Whether or not or not or not you could possibly have single-use alkaline batteries, rechargeable batteries, or one other type of ineffective battery laying spherical your private home, chances are you might be questioning methods to recycle family batteries. Fortuitously, by the use of recycling batteries, there are infinite selections.

Examine on for our information to family battery recycling all by way of the U.S., irrespective of the place you reside.

Almost all types of batteries are recyclable. Whereas most municipalities don’t settle for them in curbside recycling, there are pretty a few retailers and packages all by way of the U.S. — a whole lot of that are big-box retailers which can be discovered shut to simply about any metropolis — the place you may drop off batteries to be recycled.

If in case you could possibly have a drawer full of ineffective batteries that you simply simply merely’d favor to recycle, we advise using Earth911’s The place to Recycle instrument. There, you may enter what merchandise you’d favor to recycle (merely search “batteries” or the precise kind of battery you could possibly have) and your zip code. Earth911 will pull up an inventory of areas in your home with battery recycling bins.

Most of those areas will most certainly be retailers, nonetheless fully totally different selections might embrace recycling facilities, protected drop-off occasions held by your municipality, or mail-in packages.

One totally different useful helpful useful resource for locating native battery recycling drop-off elements is Call2Recycle, an organization that has increased than 25,000 drop-off web pages in North America. It is potential you may look for Call2Recycle’s drop-off areas on its web site, and also you may uncover the group’s bins in a whole lot of chain retailers — additional on that beneath.

Earlier than you head to a retailer or occasion, it would presumably’t damage to name forward to substantiate their hours and that they’re nonetheless working their battery recycling program.

The following big-box retailers usually have battery recycling bins, which suggests you may cease by and drop your batteries off to be recycled. Shops with these packages embrace:

Staples Battery Recycling

Staples retailers settle for the next sorts of batteries for recycling:

• Lithium ion (Li-Ion)
• Nickel metallic hydride (Ni-MH)
• Nickel zinc (Ni-ZN)
• Non-rechargeable lithium NEW
• Rechargeable nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd)
• Single-use alkaline NEW
• Small sealed lead acid (SSLA/Pb).

This recycling program is in all Staples retailers, apart from the “metropolis retailers” in New York Metropolis and Washington, D.C. And should you usher in outdated batteries, Staples will give you a coupon in change.

Staples beforehand didn’t settle for single-use alkaline batteries for recycling, nonetheless in March 2024, the corporate expanded its free in-store recycling program to incorporate single-use alkaline and non-rechargeable lithium batteries.

Lowe’s Battery Recycling

Lowe’s could also be partnered with Call2Recycle, and has bins at increased than 1,700 Lowe’s retailers and distribution facilities the place you may drop off rechargeable batteries.

RadioShack Battery Recycling

Totally different RadioShack areas recycle all family batteries (together with single-use alkaline batteries!) via Call2Recycle — you may uncover collaborating areas correct proper right here.

Batteries Plus Battery Recycling

Batteries Plus retailers, that are positioned all all by way of the U.S., have an intensive battery recycling program, which incorporates single-use alkaline batteries.

Additional considerably, you may convey all through the next types of batteries:

• Lead Acid
• Nickel Cadmium
• Nickel Steel Hydride
• Lithium Ion & Polymer
• Family
• Specialty.

If these batteries are rechargeable, why do they should be recycled in the least? Sadly, rechargeable batteries solely closing various years prior to they die and must be modified. However nonetheless, rechargeable batteries are an extra sustainable choice than single-use batteries.

Rechargeable batteries usually price additional upfront than single-use batteries — to not stage out, you’ll should buy a battery charger, too. However the excellent news is, as rapidly as you take advantage of the batteries various occasions, you might make up the upfront price and hopefully lower your payments in the long term.

Since they’re reusable, rechargeable batteries are regular a much more eco-friendly and cost-effective assorted to single-use batteries. Not solely that, nonetheless as rapidly as they die, they’re easier to recycle than single-use alkaline batteries.

It’s unlawful in California to throw single-use alkaline batteries all through the trash; and in New York Metropolis, it is unlawful to throw rechargeable batteries of any choice all through the trash.

However simply because it’s technically licensed to ship batteries to landfill in a whole lot of areas doesn’t point out we should all the time on a regular basis. Whereas battery disposal is a controversial matter, there’s proof that batteries can leach poisonous chemical substances and air air pollution into groundwater from the landfill, and that they may even overheat and begin a fireplace all through the trash, in accordance with Shopper Analysis.

Principally, batteries are terribly recyclable — and there are pretty a few drop-off elements all by way of the nation — so for many individuals, there’s actually no excuse to not recycle batteries.

This textual content material, initially printed on Would possibly 1, 2020, has been up to date.