Collecting and Recycling Old Batteries

(Around 30lb of old batteries collected!)

Batteries CANNOT be recycled in the normal recycle bin or thrown in the trash, as waste treatment facilities just aren't equipped for batteries. In fact, old batteries often still contain a bit of charge and can spark and catch on fire in local recycling facilities:

(https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgdvpk/lithium-battery-fires-are-threatening-recycling-as-we-know-it)

(the start of the battery fire at Shoreway recycling facility, 2016)

Therefore, batteries must be recycled at special facilities, but the busy people in my neighborhood either don't know this, or don't have the time to send the batteries to these facilities, so we decided to help out by going around the neighborhood and collecting them.

We made sure to send out emails and flyers to the whole neighborhood weeks in advance, and ended up collecting around 30 pounds of batteries!