When a battery loses its charge, and becomes useless, it needs recycling. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. All too often, a dead battery is thrown in the trash, without a second thought. Many consumers don’t even know that a battery should not be thrown in the trash. Or, they don’t have easy access to battery recycling.
Why does a battery need recycling? As seen in this article on batteries, “chemicals store energy in a battery and then deliver it to desired usage through a chemical reaction.” These chemicals are so harmful to our environment. Throwing batteries into a landfill, just throws chemicals into our ground and earth. Therefore, just like an electronic device, a battery needs recycling to keep from hurting our planet.
What type of battery needs recycling? Well the answer to that is easy. All batteries need proper recycling. Almost every electronic device that is made today comes with a battery. Many electronics come with a rechargeable battery. Or consumers need to purchase a battery or batteries in order to be able to use the device remotely.
Laptop, tablet, and cell phone batteries are rechargeable and don’t die out too quickly. Therefore their life span is much longer. Consumers most commonly buy alkaline and alkaline rechargeable batteries. These are used for small electronics, home appliances, toys, household items, etc. These batteries also get thrown out the most, due to their short life. In addition, automotive batteries are another type of battery that is a common purchase to replace dead vehicle batteries. Every type of battery needs recycling, and never thrown away in the trash.
However, how does a regular consumer recycle their batteries? A Sacramento woman became aware of the harm of batteries that she threw in the trash. She decided to make sure she didn’t throw them away. So, researched stores and did some searches online. However, she was not able to find a nearby facility that takes her old batteries and can recycle them. She found recycling plants that she may take them to, but their locations were not convenient.
Eventually she was able to find some stores online that she sometimes shopped at. Online it said that they recycle batteries. Yet, when she came to the store, employees had no idea how to collect the batteries. She ended up leaving the store with the batteries. Recycling her batteries was not easy or convenient. After a few months of trying, she was tired of holding onto the dead batteries. She he ended up just throwing them in the trash.
Why isn’t it easy for Consumers to recycle their batteries? Battery manufacturers, retailers, and battery recyclers need to work together. They need to figure out the best way to get consumers to recycle their batteries. Any store that sells batteries can have a drop box for old batteries. This would include cell phone stores, laptop/tablet electronic stores, and automotive stores. Also, any store that sells alkaline batteries (which includes almost every type of retailer) could have a box. A 3PSP (Third Party Service Provider) who recycles batteries might put drop box locations at many retailer locations. With this, consumers may become more aware of the need and have the ease and convenience of recycling their batteries.
