Family, Alkaline, Lithium, and Extra

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

Be taught on for our information to family battery recycling all by the U.S., whatever 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 only a few retailers and packages all by the U.S. — quite a few that are big-box retailers that could possibly be discovered shut to simply about any metropolis — the place you possibly can drop off batteries to be recycled.

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

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

One completely different useful helpful useful resource for locating native battery recycling drop-off parts is Call2Recycle, a company that has higher than 25,000 drop-off websites in North America. Likelihood is you may search for Call2Recycle’s drop-off areas on its net web page, and you may uncover the group’s bins in quite a few chain retailers — additional on that beneath.

Ahead of 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 following big-box retailers typically have battery recycling bins, which suggests you possibly can cease by and drop your batteries off to be recycled. Retailers with these packages embrace:

Staples Battery Recycling

Staples retailers settle for the next varieties 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 do you need to 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 higher than 1,700 Lowe’s retailers and distribution facilities the place you possibly can drop off rechargeable batteries.

RadioShack Battery Recycling

Completely different RadioShack areas recycle all family batteries (together with single-use alkaline batteries!) by way of Call2Recycle — you possibly can uncover collaborating areas correct proper right here.

Batteries Plus Battery Recycling

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

Extra considerably, you possibly can 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 must be recycled in the slightest degree? Sadly, rechargeable batteries solely final quite a lot of years ahead of they die and must be modified. Nonetheless nonetheless, rechargeable batteries are an extra sustainable choice than single-use batteries.

Rechargeable batteries usually worth additional upfront than single-use batteries — to not stage out, you’ll can purchase a battery charger, too. Nonetheless the excellent news is, as rapidly as you take advantage of the batteries quite a lot of occasions, you’ll 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 quite a few 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 authorised to ship batteries to landfill in quite a few areas doesn’t point out we should at all times 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 might even overheat and begin a fireplace all through the trash, in accordance with Shopper Analysis.

Principally, batteries are terribly recyclable — and there are pretty only a few drop-off parts all by 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.