Now let me preface this by saying I am by no means an expert about recycling or environmental impact or anything like that. No advanced degrees. No research publications. I'm just a girl with a relatively green heart and mind who is trying to do her best to do right by our planet. So before anyone goes getting all smart and analytical on me, I just wanted to put that out there. Cool? Cool.
I started a new deal a week or so ago where I pledged to try to look into how to recycle different things around our homes. Jen from The Recovering Procrastinator commented that she wondered where you could recycle batteries. So I dug in to wade through the boatloads of information that was out there.
These seem to be the two easiest ways to answer that question.
Rechargeable Batteries
If you want to recycle rechargeable batteries, simply visit the Location Finder section of Call2Recycle.org. It's a slick system where you plug in your zip code and can find locations to recycle rechargeable batteries and cell phones. It turns out these puppies are pretty easy to turn in to be recycled. In many states it is illegal not to recycle these batteries and, even if your state is not one of them, recycling of these is strongly recommended.
Alkaline or Single Use Batteries
It took a bit more searching, but I also found a great resource for how to recycle the alkaline or single use batteries. This is also a finder on a web site called earth911.com.
When I plugged in my information there, several of the links were to Batteries Plus . I called them to confirm and he confirmed that not only do they recycle single use batteries, but they actually recycle all batteries. So there you have it, one stop recycling shop! But in case you don't have a convenient Batteries Plus around, use the earth911 site to see what's available to you.
There seems to be some debate out there about the need to recycle these batteries. Many battery manufacturers eliminated mercury from their batteries several years ago making it "safe" to dispose of them in the trash. And there seems to be a debate about whether the recycling process itself is safe. Again, I'm just a girl, so I don't think I'd even venture to weigh in on that.
Thanks for the question, Jen.
So what's next? What do you want to know if you can recycle? Post your questions in the comments and I'll see what I can do.
(Oh and for those of you wondering about the razor holder things, stay tuned. Let's just say that the customer service at one of the major razor companies is lacking a bit...)
