What should you do with your batteries?

COURTNEY McCLURE The Standard

NORTH DURHAM: Do you know how to safely and efficiently get rid of your used batteries?

People can keep their used or unwanted batteries for six months and then get rid of them along with regular waste. However, there are specific ways used batteries must be disposed. For instance, used or unwanted batteries need to be put in a clear, plastic bag sealed with a zipper or other secure fastener.

There are batteries which can and cannot be accepted for disposal.

Acceptable materials include standard A, AA, AAA, C and D batteries, 6-volt batteries, 9-volt batteries and more. Lithium, button cell, and 9-volt batteries should be sealed with masking tape. This is advised as a safety precaution.

Unacceptable materials include car/vehicle batteries, batteries that are leaking, and industrial batteries.

After batteries are collected, they are sent away to be recycled. The company which takes care of the recycling process is called Raw Materials Company INC. They are located in the Niagara Region.

Respective staff, at the Raw Materials Company INC, take the batteries apart and sort the “resources” from the batteries so they can be recycled and reused.

“Almost all parts of the typical battery can be re-used,” explained Ms. Dykman. Batteries contain steel, zinc, potassium and other re-usable resources.

“Those are all resources which go back into our economy.”

Durham Region started collecting batteries via curbside in the autumn of 2012.

Durham Region residents have “diverted” almost 400 metric tones in household batteries since the start of curbside battery pick-up. 400 metric tonnes is equal to about four-hundred-thousand kilograms.

Durham Region holds the titleof the “most batteries collected in a 24 hour period” in the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2012, over 5-thousand kilograms of batteries was collected.

You can drop-off all batteries at your local or nearest waste management facility, during respective opening times. It is free to drop batteries off. For a complete list of acceptable and unacceptable batteries, please visit durham.ca.