Submitted by Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District
You stand motionless over the waste container in your kitchen, your cupped hands holding dead household alkaline batteries….and that little voice in your head questions whether this is really the best disposal for these dead batteries. Aren’t they full of caustic chemicals that could contaminate the soil or groundwater? Couldn’t these components be recycled and used in creating other products?
Your concerns are valid and are shared by the board of the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD). During the past six months we have been conducting a low-key trial alkaline battery collection program in an effort to develop recycle partners. Unfortunately, we have found that the resources are not presently available for us to establish a sustainable collection program. We will continue to search, but we wanted to share with our customers what we have learned so far.
In 1996, mercury and other heavy metals were legislated out of alkaline single-use household batteries, making them less of an issue when disposed in landfills. Outside of California, it is legal to throw these batteries in your regular trash. Still, most agencies strongly encourage households to recycle their batteries through local collection services or at hazardous household waste sites. Unfortunately, these resources are not readily available to our remote island.
San Juan County Hazardous Waste Collection excludes alkaline batteries. The only island that offers alkaline battery collection at their waste transfer facility is The Exchange on Orcas ($2 per pound fee). LSWDD has discussed a program for us with their recycler, but our volume is not sufficient to justify them coming to Lopez. We would have to give up our income from our present non-alkaline battery collection program, plus pay a hefty collection fee.
Compounding the problem is that there is little market for the small amounts of zinc, manganese, steel, plastic, and paper extracted from alkaline batteries. We have only learned of two facilities stateside that fully recycle and provide a certificate. Others extract only the steel and discard the remaining materials. Only Energizer Batteries advertises a new battery using a portion (4% by weight) of recycled materials in its construction.
The most attractive alternative was for LSWDD to transport alkaline batteries to the mainland ourselves and piggyback onto another company’s recycle program. We tried this with one company in Anacortes this past year, but the program has not run smoothly and has been discontinued.
Regrettably, LSWDD cannot accept alkaline batteries until the market changes. We will continue to search for a solution and in the meantime we encourage our customers to use rechargeable batteries, which we can recycle.
There are alternatives for Lopez residents who want to recycle these batteries. Alkaline batteries are accepted for free at Ace Hardware in Friday Harbor or Anacortes. Batteries can also be taken to The Exchange on Orcas for a fee. And finally, there are several recycle-by-mail programs. Eco Lights Northwest Recycle Program in Seattle, www.ecolights.com/ and Battery Solutions in Howell MI, www.batteryrecycling.com/new+iRecycle+kit. Each program charges a fee.
Our long-standing (non-alkaline) battery recycling program is not affected by this change. We will continue to take all rechargeable batteries including lead acid car batteries, portable power tool batteries, cell phone, and portable device batteries.
Thank you for your understanding. We will keep you up to date with our continued search for an alkaline battery recycle solution for Lopez. If you have comments please reply to jiml@lopezsolidwaste.org.
