Washington D.C. Launches First U.S. Recycling Program to Take All Small Batteries

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): As of Nov. 1, consumers in the District will be able to drop off home-use batteries of any kind for free at sites around the city, where they’ll be picked up for recycling. It’s the first battery recycling program in the U.S. funded by battery makers that accepts both rechargeable and single-use batteries, said Carin Stuart, a spokesperson with nonprofit Call2Recycle, which is partnering with the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment to launch the initiative. Previously, the organization’s collection sites in the District could only pick up rechargeable batteries.

“As batteries get larger, and they’re found in more and more devices, the need to safely manage them at end of life rapidly increases,” said Stuart, who works as Call2Recycle’s steward relations manager. “Battery recycling creates a circular economy, reduces the need to mine virgin materials — we can process those and reclaim those materials and put them back into new products.”

As part of the new program, Stuart said, people can drop off any rechargeable or single-use battery that’s under 11 pounds, or less than 300 watt-hours for lithium-ion batteries. Some need to have tape over the ends or be wrapped in a plastic bag. Car batteries can’t be accepted; neither can e-bike batteries, but many bike shops around the city have their own drop-offs for those. “The focus is on what you would call a portable battery,” Stuart said. “[It] pretty much covers anything that the consumer is gonna be walking around with, but not riding on or uninstalling.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com