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My local Radio Shack is no longer accepting batteries for recycling

stuboyle

I don't know how wide-spread this is but my local Radio Shack is no longer accepting batteries for recycling.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Now, what is the best alternative?  Home Depot, Lowes?

 

Stuart 

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Submitted by stuboyle on Sun, 12/30/2007 - 14:03.

DC
Re: My local Radio Shack is no longer accepting batteries for re

It is true that many places that accept rechargeable batteries (NiCd, NiMH, lithium, etc.) for recycling do not accept non-rechargeable batteries such as standard alkaline, zinc carbon, etc. The only places I have found that recycle the non-rechargeable kind are on the Internet, and you have to pay to recycle them. There is a place called Battery Solutions (http://www.batteryrecycling.com/household.html) that recycles them for about 85 cents per pound. There is another place called the Big Green Box (http://www.biggreenbox.com/), which will send you a box that you can use to recycle up to 40 pounds of batteries and electronic equipment. It's expensive -- $58 for a single box. I have never used either of these services.

There should be an easier way for consumers to recycle batteries of all types. Over two billion alkaline batteries are sold in the U.S. each year, and over 10 billion are sold worldwide. Even if these types of batteries aren't as toxic these days, there is still no reason they should unnecessarily end up in landfills. Not only does recycling them save landfill space, but it reduces the need to mine metals.

There are facilities in the U.S. that process used alkalines now (see, e.g., http://www.toxco.com/processes.html and http://www.batteryrecycling.com/alkalinezinc.html). It's just a matter of establising collection points that make it easy for consumers to drop them off for recycling. People shouldn't have to pay a lot of money to do the right thing. Any business that sells batteries should be required to collect them for recycling. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to try to buy rechargeable batteries that can be recycled whenever possible.


Tue, 01/01/2008 - 16:20

jstack6
jstack6's picture
Re: My local Radio Shack no longer accept batteries

Stub,

  It could have been the type of batteries you tried to recycle. Most battery recycling locations will only take small Nicad, NiMH and Lithium batteries. If you tried to get them to take an alkaline battery no one seem to recycle them any more.

  An interesting note is Radio Shack and others have reduced the mercury in alkaline batteries so they are much less hazardous. That is why they stopped recycling them.

  We as consumers have to buy better batteries that are recycled. The best today at NiMH and Lithium. In fact the EPA considers lithium so benign you can throw them in your home trash. It's still best to recycle them.

   We all must stop buying Nicad, the cadmium is very bad and stop buying lead acid since lead is very toxic. It's up to ALL of us to buy the best and recycle.

the solar stacks

--

solar stacks


Tue, 01/01/2008 - 09:35

stuboyle
Re: My local Radio Shack no longer accept batteries

jstack6,

 

These were just standard Energizer AA Alkalines. When I called and asked I wasn't specific about which type of battery. I bought some batteries at a different Radio Shack about 6 months prior for my calculator and they threw my button old batteries in the trash. I'm thinking it might be all Radio Shacks.


Tue, 01/01/2008 - 12:56

stuboyle
Re: My local Radio Shack is no longer accepting batteries for re

Thanks. I might be stopping by a Best Buy in the next day or 2. The Radio Shack which I had problems with is listed on earth911.org.


Sun, 12/30/2007 - 16:12

DC
Re: My local Radio Shack is no longer accepting batteries for re

There are two web sites where you can enter your zip code and get a list of places where you can recycle batteries in your community. They are:

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=ls&serviceid=126

and

http://www.ehso.com/ehso2.php?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rbrc.org/call2recycle...

 

Where we live, Best Buy, Home Depot, Ace Hardware and Office Depot all accept batteries for recycling.


Sun, 12/30/2007 - 15:42