HOW ARE BATTERIES RECYCLED?
When you recycle your batteries fewer hazardous materials end up in our landfills. This goes a long way in helping to keep our planet safer from pollution.
Call2Recycle is our battery recycling partner. Together we collect and recycle over 5 million Kilograms of batteries each year. That’s more than the weight of 1,000 elephants! The result is keeping millions of batteries out of our landfills! You can recycle all types of batteries at any of our Recycling centers! We’re proud to support their battery recycling program.
How are batteries recycled?
Our customers drop off their batteries to one of our Regional Recycling locations. We built a small electronics sorting station to make the process quick and easy. Just drop off your batteries in the correct slot and you’re ready to go.
Once we have a few large containers full of batteries they are ready to be sent to a sorting facility. Here they’re sorted by type and chemistry before being sent to different processing plants across North America. The process begins by crushing them into tiny pieces. This separates usable chemicals and metals.
A huge furnace is set to a very high temperature. The metals are melted down and poured into small molds called pigs and hogs. These metals include cobalt, lead, nickel, iron, cadmium, and zinc.
The end result is the manufacturing of new items like batteries, cement additives, rubber, paint, ceramic and so much more.
Did you know that every battery is full of recoverable resources, regardless of their type?
A battery consists of about 25% steel which is used to create new steel items. Zinc, manganese, and potassium make up another 60% of the battery. These materials are also 100% recyclable and reused as micronutrients in the production of fertilizer. Almost no waste is created in the recycling of batteries. Even the paper and plastic coating is used to create energy.