 Special for Earth Day 2013 (April 22)
Eco-Awareness and Battery Disposal
What is your eco-awareness level when it comes to battery disposal? If
you don't know much about the technicalities of batteries and their
proper handling, how can you answer this question?
So
began a long journey of discovery about batteries, hazardous household
waste and the state of recycling in this country that led to getting to
know some new companies that are not generally on the radar of the
average consumer.
The
City of Boston Public Works Department, Clean Harbors, Call2Recycle,
the EPA and your little batteries have a lot in common. Stay tuned to
find out what. The answers are very interesting.
EPA: "Batteries are Hazardous Waste"
According to the EPA's household hazardous waste (HHW) page:
Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable,
or reactive ingredients are considered to be household hazardous waste
(HHW). Products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and
pesticides, that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require
special care when you dispose of them.
In other words, recycle.
 Recycle:
A battery that is turned into an official recycling center is first
sorted sorted by its chemistry. It then gets shipped to the
appropriate facility where it will be processed and transformed. This
ensures not only that the batteries are not entering the waste stream,
but that valuable resources get reused.
Through processing, the heavy metals are removed and the battery
components are recycled separately. In some cases, the recycled
materials are able to close the loop in the recycling system by being
used to create new batteries. In other cases, the heavy metals can be
re-purposed for steel production in cars or for stainless steel items
such as golf clubs, kitchen appliances and even silverware. Is
Trash:
If a rechargeable battery is deposited in the regular trash for pickup,
odds are it will not be disposed of safely. According to the EPA, about
73 percent of municipal waste gets either incinerated or landfilled.
While these might serve as resources for disposing of regular garbage,
unfortunately, neither is a safe option for household hazardous waste
such as rechargeable batteries. Cadmium, for example, whether
ingested or inhaled, is harmful to humans.
Alkaline Batteries - Hazardous?
On the surface it would appear that the EPA statement about hazardous
waste applies to all batteries but the qualifier "that contain
corrosive, toxic, ignitable or reactive ingredients" leaves the
possibility that "benign" batteries (if there are such) may be exempt.
Everyone knows, for example, that car batteries must be recycled. Part
of the purchase a new battery includes the option turn in the old
battery. What about the AA batteries in my computer mouse or the
D cells in my flashlight?
The
EPA website continues with guidelines on the priorities for handling
hazardous waste in this order: HHW Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, and
Disposal Options. Yet, no mention is made for the exclusion of
single-use alkaline batteries. That they may not be considered HHW is
supported by a lot of literature and practice. City of Boston
Public Works Superintendent Rob DeRosa stated that: "Double A's, triple
A's and alkaline base batteries, they can go into regular trash."
But where does the EPA so indicate this?
The
EPA website is difficult to follow and tthis author was not able to
determine the EPA designation of ordinary alkaline batteries (also
known as primary batteries). However, Daniels Training Services provides a thorough and carefully documented explanation of the status of primary batteries.
"Dry cell alkaline batteries (D, C, AA, AAA, 6 volt, & 9 volt are
non-hazardous waste. Therefore, (unless there is a state
exclusion) you may be able to dispose of alkaline batteries in the
trash the same as you do the trash from your front office, break rooms
and other non-production areas.
States Respond to EPA Recycling Requirements
Congress passed the Resouce Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) on
October 21, 1976 to address the increasing problems the nation faced
from our growing volume of municipal and industrial waste.
Federal law requires, with certain exceptions, used Ni-Cd and Pb
batteries to be managed as Universal Waste (40 CFR Part 273).
The
Universal Waste Rule prohibits handlers (e.g., contractors) from
disposing of waste Ni-Cd and Pb batteries and further indicates that
these batteries must be sent for recycling.
Certainly in the year 2013 there has been sufficient time for all 50
states to respond to the requirement to recycle and to put in place
mechanisms at all levels from consumers through industrial environments
for effecting recycling.
Rob
DeRosa: "One of the problems with recycling of any sort (glass,
battery, tv, computer monitor) is convenience. If the public thinks'
it's going to be inconvenient, they won't recycle." More than
that is the existence of law at the state level. Without a "rule"
specifying behavior, many people / organizations will not take on
additional work especially if costs are incurred.
Call2Recycle (more about them later) provides a "Recycling Laws Map"
which classifies all states into one of four categories on how they
mandate handling spent batteries. While this map may not be up-to-date,
it does give a sense of how the states are responding to the EPA
guidelines.
Grp
|
Color
|
Category
|
# States
|
Comment
|
1
|
Gray
|
No laws on handling battery waste
|
18 states
|
including MA |
2
|
Yellow
|
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Law for Single Chemistry |
19 states
|
Small lead acid batteries
|
3
|
Green
|
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Law for Multiple Chemistries
|
11 states |
Nickel cadmium & lead acid. |
|
|
|
New York
|
Add Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium Ion |
4
|
Salmon
|
Battery disposal requirements for all Chemistries |
California
|
Same as NY plus single use non-rechargeable batteries
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP)
website discusses the management options associated with each type of
battery but does not appear to represent the information as "law," just
recommendations.
Mass DEP organizes batteries into four categories:
| Alkaline batteries (AAA,AA,C,D and 9 volt) |
are made with no added mercury and are not considered hazardous. |
Dispose in the trash |
| Nickel-cadmium batteries |
contain cadmium, a metal that is toxic to humans when inhaled or ingested |
Do
NOT dispose of in the trash. Take to a retail collection location or a
municipal recycling center that accepts rechargeable batteries.
|
| Button batteries |
contain mercury |
Do
NOT dispose of in the trash. Many stores selling watches or hearing
aids will accept spent button batteries. If your trash is handled by a
waste-to-energy facility, find out if they have a mercury waste
collection program; or hold for HHW collection. |
| Lithium batteries |
contain lithium which is reactive with water and has caused serious fires. |
Hold for household hazardous waste collection day. |
Call2Recycle Hazardous Battery Recycling
 (From their website): http://www.call2recycle.org/
Call2Recycle® is the only free rechargeable battery and cellphone
collection program in North America. Since 1996, Call2Recycle has
diverted over 70 million pounds of rechargeable batteries from the
solid waste stream and established a network of 30,000 public
collection sites. Advancing green business practices and environmental
sustainability, Call2Recycle is the most active voice promoting safe
reclamation and recycling of rechargeable batteries and cellphones.
In
adherence to the strictest and safest recycling standards, Call2Recycle
has received the Responsible Recycling (R2) certification for the
management of the collection and the distribution to processors for the
recycling of batteries and cellphones. Call2Recycle is a 501(c)4
non-profit organization.
Call2Recycle (C2R) has established relationships with local retailers
such as Radio Shack, Best Buy and Home Depot. Using "kits" provided by
C2R, the retailer sets up a free battery recycle box and C2R provides
free shipping when the retailer is ready to mail the batteries into a
designated battery recycling site. At a larger level, C2R works with
municipalities to assist them in recycling rechargeable batteries.
Call2Recycle is funded by product manufacturers across the globe
committed to environmentally-sound recycling of rechargeable batteries
and cellphones. These manufacturers place our recycling seal on their
rechargeable products and batteries, informing users that they are
recyclable.
You
may find them referred to by their original name: The
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC). There are
currently over 400 collection sites in Massachusetts that are free to
residents. Call 800-8-BATTERY for the nearest retail collection
location.
The City of Boston Public Works Department
Public Works Superintendent, Rob DeRosa, who answers the phone "Waste
Reduction," explained how HHWD (Household Hazardous Waste Day)
works. The City of Boston is not licensed to handle hazardous
waste. What the City can and does do is organize hazardous waste
collection days, twice a year. The dates for 2013 have not yet
been announced.
The
City contracts with Clean Harbors who is licensed to handle hazardous
waste. If you attend one of the hazardous waste days and watch all the
workers collecting paint, chemicals, batteries and whatnot from cars
driving in, you will find the workers dressed in white hazmat suits.
What
happens to the batteries? According to a Call2Recycle
spokesperson in their Atlanta office, Clean Harbors works with them to
recycle the rechargeable batteries, shipping them to a Pennsylvania
processing site.
The bottom-line: Think "Eco-Aware."
Practice what the EPA preaches regarding household hazardous
waste: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Dispose. Don't dispose
unless you absolutely have to. Recycle at the end of product
life. Reuse instead of disgarding. Reduce the use so less
energy needs to be spent on waste.
- Do
you own a battery charger? If not, plan to purchase one.
Many excellent manufacturers offer a variety of designs. Handled
properly over their life time, rechargeable batteries are kinder to our
environment.
- Do
you own power tools, flashlights, computers, watches, cell
phones? As an exercise, itemize how many different pieces of
equipment you own that make use of rechargeable or hazardous waste
batteries (buttons).
- Make
sure you know in advance how to handle the batteries at the end of
their life. Do you have a plan for safely storing your batteries
until hazardous waste day? Or can you take them to one of the
many Call2Recycle sites in the local area?
- Plan to talk with family members and teach them how to safely recycle batteries
- Finally,
talk with your congress person about getting laws passed in
Massachusetts that will bring our state up to the environmental
maturity of states like California and New York.
This is the only planet we've got. Let's protect it starting now.
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