What do I do with batteries??

At a party last night, a friend asked me what to do about batteries. As with most things in life, the answer is "it depends." But, it got me researching a bit...and here's what I found!

In Minneapolis, household batteries are accepted as part of the curbside recycling program. They recommend that you tape the ends of lithium batteries to prevent fires (yikes!) and place them in a plastic bag on top of your recycling bin. This includes both rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries.

For the rest of Hennepin County, all types of household batteries may be dropped off at battery collection sites. For a list of battery collection locations in Hennepin County, click here. They may also be dropped off free of charge at Bloomington or Brooklyn Park drop off facility.

I was very very surprised to learn that alkaline batteries and carbon zinc batteries purchased after 1993 are ok to throw in the garbage, according to both the Hennepin County and RethinkRecycling.com! (Although, the city of Minneapolis says "Do NOT put any batteries in your garbage cart"...perhaps b/c they go to the incinerator?) Personally, I'll choose to keep my batteries out of the waste stream, especially since it's so easy to do!

Another option to reduce waste is to switch to rechargeable batteries. Did you know that 2 AA Ni-Cad rechargeable batteries can replace 600 single use batteries?!? Although, it is essential to make sure that rechargeables are disposed of properly (e.g., separate for curbside collection, drop at battery collection site, at a county drop-off facility, or at a participating retailer) since the rechargeables have dangerous chemicals in them. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation has a great website that can help you locate nearby retailers that accept rechargeable batteries free of charge as well. Some of the participating retailers include Best Buy, Batteries Plus, Circuit City, Home Depot, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Sears, Staples, Target, and Wal-Mart.

Hennepin County has a nice chart to help guide you in proper disposal of all types of batteries. And remember, in Minneapolis, all household batteries can be set out with your regular recycling, just place in a separate sealed plastic bag.

Wet-cell batteries such as car batteries are not accepted curbside or at the batteries collection locations, but are accepted free of charge at county drop sites and at most stores that sell auto batteries. (By law, they are required to accepted up to 5 auto batteries for no charge and no purchase required.)

Whew...hope that clears things up a bit!