Are you using alkaline batteries to power some of the household items lying around your home? Once a battery has been used and is no longer providing the power you need from it, what do you do with it? Most people’s immediate reaction is to take it out and throw it away. However, due to many of the dangerous chemicals found inside Alkaline batteries, experts have said that you should not do that. Well, in that case, you might be wondering, if you shouldn’t throw them away, then what should you do with them? Should you recycle them? Can alkaline batteries be recycled? Yes, in fact, they can.
In case you weren’t aware, at one point, alkaline batteries were made with mercury in them, which is very harmful to the environment. This substance is so harmful that the government stepped in and banned the sale of all batteries containing mercury. Now, some people have said that it is okay to discard alkaline batteries with the rest of your trash since this governmental regulation was put into place. Others disagree.
Even if it is now safe to discard your batteries along with your normal household garbage, it is still a good idea to recycle your batteries. Alkaline batteries, along with other battery types, are comprised of metal. This metal can be recycled and reused later for another purpose, which still contributes to a greener environment. So if you’d like to contribute to your environment, then you should still recycle your batteries anyway.
How and Where Can Alkaline Batteries Be Recycled?
You cannot take your batteries to ordinary recycling centers like you would paper, plastic, etc. However, there are specially developed battery recycling depots or centers that you can take them to. To find a battery recycling center near you, feel free to visit http://earth911.com/recycling/single-use-batteries/. If your batteries are rechargeable, then you may even be able to take them back to the retail store you bought them from, such as Walmart, Target, Radio Shack, etc.
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