In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, we’re often hit with notification after notification from twitter, Instagram, from emails and so on. There’s no denying that our electronic devices like our cellphones and laptops provide a huge help in keeping track of it all. But have you ever found yourself asking what to do with all the old batteries from those devices? Sometimes batteries can pile around the house, especially after a new phone upgrade or when they just don’t work anymore. Good news though, batteries can be recycled! By recycling batteries, it can not only help keep the environment safe but also your local waste facility employee. If not properly disposed, some batteries such as those made out of lithium can be volatile and spark whenever their metal terminal touches something metallic, like the inside of a garbage truck or the various waste at a landfill, causing a fire. In 2017, 65% of fires at waste facilities were the direct result of improper lithium battery disposal.
Recycling is a fantastic way to prevent that from happening! Although batteries can be recycled, they should not be placed in the recycling bin at home. Instead here’s some great alternatives:
· Orange County residents can drop off batteries at any of our four different Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection centers for free.
· While at the HHW collection center, be sure to pick up a free battery bucket for your home.
· Most residents also live within ten miles of a Call2Recycle site.
· Home Depot, Best Buy and Lowes are some of the local establishments that have battery recycling programs.
Be sure to test your knowledge on battery recycling with this quiz here!
