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Billions upon billions of batteries are purchased, used, and disposed of every year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 1998 alone, over three billion industrial and household batteries were sold.
Because one rechargeable battery can replace hundreds of its single-use counterparts, purchasing rechargeables is one way of reducing the number of batteries clogging up the waste stream, not to mention the quantity of heavy metals-such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel-that can contaminate the environment when batteries are disposed of carelessly.
Thanks to the passing of the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act (PDF) in 1996, many states have made battery recycling mandatory-and easier. Enter your zip code online at Earth911.org to find a battery recycler in your neck of the woods, or click on over to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation to find a battery drop-off site near you.
Difficulty level: Easy
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