How To Recycle Batteries

A few friends recently asked the question: “What do you do with your old batteries?”

I’ve always heard you weren’t supposed to throw them out, you were supposed to “recycle” them. What that usually looked like was saving them up in a quart-size Ziploc bag until I had the emotional fortitude to (allegedly) throw them out. I have never seen a deliberate single-use battery recycling drop off location in my entire life. You can’t put them with the regular recycling of course.

A few years back I found a box on Amazon you fill up with your old batteries and mail back to whoever and then they can “recycle” them. I never bothered to get one, it just seemed redundant.

As time went on, my kids multiplied and with them came a lot of things that absolutely tear through batteries. I could invest in some decent rechargeable but when I say they “tear” through them I mean that literally. For these applications, they must be single-use. I also just like the cost effectiveness and longevity of Rayovac or Kirkland Signature/Duracell.

As delicious as they may look, you should NOT eat a battery!
As delicious as they may look, you should NOT eat a battery!

My quart-size Ziploc bag overflowed into a second, which also overflowed. Something had to be done.

It’s 2024 and you don’t have to look up some slob in the phone book to get mildly inaccurate information any more!

call2recycle.org logo
Call2Recycle, a not-for-profit organization, is a battery recycling program, active in the USA and Canada.

Since 1994, Call2Recycle, Inc. has grown from an idea by a group of five battery manufacturers to a leading not-for-profit, product stewardship organization that operates according to the principles of efficiency, transparency and commitment. After 25 years and more than 115 million pounds of batteries recycled in the U.S., Call2Recycle continues to define itself as a leading turnkey, end-of-life battery recycling program with more than 16,000 public drop-off sites across the nation.

You can use Call2Recycle’s locator tool to find a collection point near you. Note that certain partners accept different items. For example, in my area The Home Depot accepts rechargeable batteries, while Staples accepts rechargeable and single-use batteries in addition to cellphones. At my Staples I took them to the register like I was buying something and said “I want to recycle these” and the employee said “Okay!” and handed me a receipt for 20% an item that day. I always love checking out stationary and pens so it was a fun excuse to get out anyways.

Call2Recycle also has a store where you can buy mail-back boxes and 55 gallon battery recycling barrels.(?!?) If you run a store that sells or provides batteries, you should accept them for recycling at no cost as a moral obligation. If you provide a workspace for others including batteries for their equipment, you should also have a battery recycling box and educate your employees.

So that’s how you recycle batteries. Not too bad!