Family, Alkaline, Lithium, and Further

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 it’s possible you’ll be questioning methods to recycle family batteries. Fortuitously, in terms of recycling batteries, there are infinite choices.

Examine on for our information to family battery recycling all via the U.S., whatever the place you reside.

Almost all forms of batteries are recyclable. Whereas most municipalities don’t settle for them in curbside recycling, there are pretty just some retailers and packages all via the U.S. — a variety of which is perhaps 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 would 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 may enter what merchandise you’d favor to recycle (merely search “batteries” or the precise kind of battery you may 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 maybe be retailers, however fully totally different choices may 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, a corporation that has higher than 25,000 drop-off websites in North America. It is attainable you may search for Call2Recycle’s drop-off areas on its web site on-line, and also you presumably can uncover the group’s bins in a variety of chain retailers — extra on that beneath.

Before you head to a retailer or occasion, it may presumably’t harm 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. Retailers 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 provide you with a coupon in change.

Staples beforehand didn’t settle for single-use alkaline batteries for recycling, however 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 is perhaps partnered with Call2Recycle, and has bins at higher than 1,700 Lowe’s retailers and distribution providers the place you may drop off rechargeable batteries.

RadioShack Battery Recycling

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

Batteries Plus Battery Recycling

Batteries Plus retailers, which is perhaps positioned all all via the U.S., have an intensive battery recycling program, which incorporates single-use alkaline batteries.

Further considerably, 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 should be recycled in the slightest degree? Sadly, rechargeable batteries solely closing quite a lot of years ahead of they die and must be modified. Nonetheless nonetheless, rechargeable batteries are a extra sustainable choice than single-use batteries.

Rechargeable batteries usually worth extra upfront than single-use batteries — to not stage out, you’ll should buy a battery charger, too. Nonetheless the excellent news is, as shortly as you take advantage of the batteries quite a lot of occasions, it’s possible you’ll make up the upfront worth 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 different to single-use batteries. Not solely that, however as shortly 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.

Nonetheless simply because it’s technically authorised to ship batteries to landfill in a variety of areas doesn’t counsel we should all the time 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 might even overheat and begin a hearth all through the trash, in accordance with Shopper Analysis.

Principally, batteries are terribly recyclable — and there are pretty just some drop-off parts all via the nation — so for many individuals, there’s really no excuse to not recycle batteries.

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