Recently, my friend Mary asked me about recycling alkaline batteries. She wanted me to weigh in on a dispute she was having with someone who claimed that trashing alkaline batteries was okay. This came on the heels of my son berating me for (almost) tossing one out the other day. So it was time to do a little research.
A product website like Duracell's will tell you that “alkaline batteries can be safely disposed of with normal household waste. (They) are composed primarily of common metals – steel, zinc and manganese – and do not pose a health or environmental risk during normal use or disposal.”
However, several green informational sites I consulted stated that alkaline batteries still contain trace amounts of mercury. In 1997, Congress legislated a mercury phase-out in batteries of all types. Batteries manufactured before then contained as much as 10 times more mercury than today's batteries.
Think of it like the trans fat issue. A product can say it is trans-fat free and still list partially hydrogenated oils in its ingredient list. It's still there, just getting under the designated percentage threshold that allows the manufacturer to toot the goodness horn.
It becomes even more problematic when you consider that our trash is incinerated instead of hauled to a landfill. That “trace” mercury and the metals in the batteries end up in the air.
Both of these companies will sell you containers in various sizes to fill and return. For example, an iRecycle kit from Battery Solutions that holds 12 pounds – the typical amount accumulated by the average household in one year – costs $34.50 and includes a pre-paid mailing label. Besides alkaline batteries, you can also throw in other dry-cell batteries, rechargeable battery packs and handheld electronics. Because the processing yields no profits to the companies, they need to charge for this service. The price subsidizes the cost of the recycling.
In some parts of the country, you can find retail stores that have the “big green box” available for customers to use. They shoulder the expense of buying the box, and you're only out the time it takes to drive your batteries to the store. I am not aware of any local business offering this service, but it certainly would be appreciated.
