Q: What is the best way to dispose of used alkaline batteries? I have heard they should not go into the landfill, but I have also heard that battery recycling programs are not effective or efficient. I would love to know what is the most ecologically sensitive way to dispose of these batteries!
Asked by Kristi Holmes Espineira, '89, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Batteries are, without a doubt, amazing little gadgets. Tiny metallic cylinders or disks, they are found in every one of the hundreds of portable devices that have become all but indispensable in modern life. They hold the charge that powers our lifestyles.
The types of batteries we use range from the common, household, one-use alkaline batteries, to the hefty, lead acid batteries in cars, and beyond. I will talk more about these in the Nitty Gritty. Here, however, I will address alkaline batteries.
Alkaline batteries are probably the most recognizable batteries—the cylindrical Duracells and Energizers that come in familiar sizes from AAA to D. They're also the most commonly used, making up more than 68 percent of the battery market in 2010. Alkaline batteries used to be manufactured with mercury, a toxic heavy metal, as one of their components. In the 1980s, one percent of the weight of alkaline batteries was composed of mercury. When scaled up to the 72,000 tons of alkaline batteries purchased (and mostly discarded) annually in the United States, that would mean 720 tons of mercury would go into landfills every year. To put this into perspective, this is enough mercury to kill more than 162 million people, were the metal ingested.
Thankfully, the mercury problem is all but remedied. In 1996, a law was passed limiting the use of mercury in alkaline batteries. Levels of mercury in batteries quickly dropped by more than 99 percent, and today many manufacturers claim that their batteries contain zero mercury. However, there are still trace amounts, as mercury is often found mixed with zinc during mining.
Due to these improved requirements, alkaline batteries are no longer considered toxic waste; they may be legally discarded in household garbage. Except in California. Here, alkaline batteries are considered "universal waste," or waste that has some hazardous qualities and must be recycled or disposed of as hazardous waste. According to Chris Craig, Stanford's environmental health and safety specialist, it is the corrosiveness of the batteries, not the presence of toxic metals, that qualifies them as hazardous.
Because of that rule, California is where most alkaline battery recycling takes place. The process is actually quite effective, with one small drawback: it usually isn't profitable. Companies recycle because it is the law, and many recyclers charge individuals or institutions to accept their batteries, effectively subsidizing the mandated recycling. Some retailers in California, such as Walgreens or Ace Hardware, will take single-use batteries for recycling, free of charge.
Outside of California, alkaline battery recycling is less available, and still needs to be paid for. If you want to recycle your batteries, you may need to purchase a recycling service such as Big Green Box (which also takes small electronic waste), or investigate recyclers near you at Earth911. However, alkaline batteries are not toxic enough to be considered hazardous by most states, and while recycling them saves raw materials, disposing of them in the garbage will likely not cause great harm.
Rachael Monosson, '11, is an earth systems major.
