Courtesy of: EarthTalk®
E – The Environmental Magazine
Dear Earth Talk: How do I recycle or safely dispose of used batteries? —Tom Shamrell, Brattleboro, VT
Unfortunately, most of the more than 750 million alkaline batteries sold each year to power our cameras, flashlights and Discmans are landfilled and incinerated, not recycled. The chemicals in these batteries—particularly cadmium—present a major health hazard if they leak from their corroded metal jackets. Cadmium is a probable human carcinogen, and it can also affect kidney and lung function.
Several states, including Maine, Vermont and Florida, have passed legislation prohibiting incineration and landfilling of mercury-containing and lead-acid batteries, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Product Stewardship. Regardless of your home state's attitude on batteries, you should contact your town's solid waste office to see if there are any planned Hazardous Waste Collection Days. Batteries awaiting recycling should be stored separately from other hazardous materials in a cool and dry area.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2011.