Family, Alkaline, Lithium, and Additional

Whether or not or not or not you may have single-use alkaline batteries, rechargeable batteries, or one other type of ineffective battery laying spherical your particular person residence, likelihood is excessive you could be questioning methods to recycle family batteries. Fortuitously, in the case of recycling batteries, there are infinite picks.

Be taught on for our information to family battery recycling all by means of the U.S., whatever the place you reside.

Almost all styles of batteries are recyclable. Whereas most municipalities don’t settle for them in curbside recycling, there are pretty plenty of shops and packages all by means of the U.S. — loads of that are big-box shops that might be discovered shut to nearly any metropolis — the place you may drop off batteries to be recycled.

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

Most of those areas will maybe be shops, nonetheless completely totally different picks might embrace recycling providers, secure 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 parts is Call2Recycle, an organization that has higher than 25,000 drop-off websites in North America. You would possibly search for Call2Recycle’s drop-off areas on its web site on-line, and you’ll uncover the group’s bins in loads of chain shops — additional on that beneath.

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

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

Staples Battery Recycling

Staples shops 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 shops, apart from the “metropolis shops” in New York Metropolis and Washington, D.C. And should you usher in outdated batteries, Staples offers 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 might be partnered with Call2Recycle, and has bins at higher than 1,700 Lowe’s shops and distribution providers the place you may drop off rechargeable batteries.

RadioShack Battery Recycling

Diversified RadioShack areas recycle all family batteries (together with single-use alkaline batteries!) by the use of Call2Recycle — you’ll uncover collaborating areas correct proper right here.

Batteries Plus Battery Recycling

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

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

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

If these batteries are rechargeable, why do they must be recycled in the slightest degree? Sadly, rechargeable batteries solely remaining numerous years earlier than they die and should be modified. Nonetheless nonetheless, rechargeable batteries are an additional sustainable different than single-use batteries.

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

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

Nonetheless simply because it’s technically accepted to ship batteries to landfill in loads of locations doesn’t counsel we should at all times always. 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 plenty of drop-off parts all by means 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.