National Battery Day is coming up on February 18! You can win a $100 Best Buy gift card here, by sharing your battery recycling story with me today.
One of the things I do as part of Spring cleaning is cleaning out bathroom cupboards and junk drawers, throwing out old products, half used lotions and dried out markers from the craft drawer too.
In my junk drawer were plenty of new and used batteries. I’ll be honest I had no idea what to do with the used ones, but my husband would not let me just throw them out so we set them aside.
It’s a good thing we did, did you know that used batteries can be recycled?
Call2Recycle is a not-for-profit organization that provides a battery recycling program to Canadians at no cost and collects and recycles all single-use and rechargeable batteries weighing less than 5 kg each and cellphones. These items can actually be recycled into new batteries, metal alloys and stainless steel products (like golf clubs). So save them from a landfill and help protect our natural resources by recycling your used batteries. It’s so easy to recycle batteries with plenty of locations across Canada.
We decided to use a small jar inside my office drawer for used batteries going forward, so we always know where they go! Then I can do the drop off at my nearest location every few months.
You can win a Gift Card here by sharing your recycling story, enter below!
Visit call2recycle.ca to find a location near you.
As you jump on board the battery recycling train, it’s important to make sure you are being safe and responsible while doing so.
5 TIPS FOR SAFE & EASY BATTERY RECYCLING
- Safety first! Be sure to safely prep your batteries. There are two options: bag or tape. Option A: Bag each battery in its own clear plastic bag before placing it in a storage container. Option B: you can tape the terminals with clear packing, non-conductive electrical or duct tape, keeping label visible.
- Stay cool. Store the batteries in a cool, dry place. Incidents can occur when batteries are exposed to inclement or excessively hot weather. Store them in a plastic container; avoid metal.
- Possible damage? If you see a swollen or bulging battery, immediately put it in a non-flammable material, such as sand or kitty litter in a cool, dry place. DO NOT THROW AWAY. Contact Call2Recycle, the manufacturer or retailer immediately for instructions, especially if the label says it is Lithium or Lithium-Ion.
- Timing is everything. Aim to drop off batteries to recycle within six months, ensuring they are bagged or taped. You can use our locator to find the nearest drop-off site.
- Spread the word. As we all use batteries to power our world, share the knowledge about battery recycling. It’s the right thing to do and helps keep batteries out of landfills!
What’s accepted and what’s not?
Call2Recycle collects and recycles all single-use and rechargeable batteries weighing less than 5 kg each and cellphones. Visit call2recycle.ca to find a location near you.
Call2Recycle does not accept:
- Car batteries
Wet cell Ni-Cd, Wet cell lead acid vehicle batteries
Visibly or known to be damaged batteries (leaking, cracked case)
Cellphone chargers or accessories
Join Call2Recycle on Facebook and Twitter!
Enter to win! …
*Images: Shutterstock *Sponsored by call2recycle
We bring ours to our local recycling building!
We take them to the recycling Depot or to Staples.
Best Buy close to me takes batteries, and I took my car battery and paint to a larger facility that you drive up to to drop off which is a bit if a drive, but worth it!
I usually take mine to Staples, they recycle a lot of things and it’s super convenient! Using call2recycle.ca is great because now I know about all the other locations that accept batteries for recycling!
We drop them off at a local recycling facility!
We take them to our local recycling building. Thanks 🙂
We keep used batteries in a baggy and we have been taking them to London Drugs for recycling.
I have a bunch I’ve been collecting to recycle. Must do soon!
We bring them to the recycling center at our local dump.
We stick them in a bag to recycle.
We bring them to the recycling center.
We have a container we put them in in the garage until it is full and then we
take them to be recycled.
We have a box for batteries in our recycling area and we drop them off at our public library.
We always keep ours in a separate bag and recycle them when we go to the depot.
My daughter is an earth ranger and is very good at not only collecting all our used batteries but also those of the neighbors so that we can return them to our recycling centre!
We make sure to collect them in a designate area and then when we have enough we bring it to dispose in the depot.
After we dropped old batteries off at the depot, we started buying only rechargeable batteries and it’s been great!
We have a seperate container for used batteries and we recycle them at Staples.
I take my old batteries to my workplace where they have a recycling program
We have a battery recycling program at work so I take my batteries to work to ensure they are recycled properly!
We have been bringing our batteries to London Drugs for recycling.
We have a container labeled used batteries and when it gets full I take it to the local recycling center.
We don’t really recycle batteries. I’ve never thought of it but I have been thinking about switching to rechargeable batteries.
We bring our batteries to London drugs to recycle. They have an awesome recycling program for batteries, lightbulbs, small appliances and lots more.
We store away old batteries in a glass jar until we have time to recycle them. Always worried the toddler would get a hold of leaking batteries!
We bring ours to our town recycling facility.
Best Buy is the nearest Call2Recycle place near me so once the dead battery baggie gets heavy, we head there for drop off.
We give our batteries to a depot that takes them for recycling.
Near our front door we have a little “recycle” station for mail, flyers, plastic bag & battery returns… there’s a plastic battery storage container that we have in a drawer with new batteries so if you want new ones you have to put the old ones there and then weekly we check the station and bring back whatevers there… we don’t go through a lot of batteries and we’ve tried to transfer all of the remotes to rechargables but it’s still important to recyle even one vs throwing it out. And there’s so many amazing things they make with recycled batteries!
We make sure to bring it to a recycling place!
We have a box that we collect batteries then bring them to the recycling facility
There is a battery recycling program at work. I make use of it.
Our town has a hazardous waste collection two times a year. I check and change batteries in the fall, so I make sure I don’t miss the collection.
We save them up and then bring them in for recycling.
We bring our batteries to London Drugs for recycling.
We take ours to our local recycling depot.
We collect our batteries in an easy to reach central spot to ensure that they all get recycled.
We keep them in a box and when we have to do a dump run we bring them to the recycling box there.
We have a box at home where we put dead batteries and then take them to Rona for recycling.
I bring it to Best Buy!
We also recycle batteries during Spring cleaning at our local facility but I love Call2Recycle, which will let me know everywhere that will accept them! Your tips are great too! 🙂
We bring them to the recycling depot when we’ve accumulated enough from the vast array of battery powered toys.
I wait till I have a bunch then take them to a local store that accepts them for recycling.
We have a container by the back door that we drop dead batteries in. Whenever I know I am heading to London Drugs I’ll empty it and drop them at their recycling area.
We store our in a container , I have to drive to the city about 20 minutes from us to drop them off , its the closest place for us , but its ok , we go in anyhow
We live in a small Town and they collect once a year,so we just store the batteries till be can recycle
We have a container in the hall closet to put the used batteries in and drop them off at the recycling center.
We have a collection box for batteries in our basement and when it is full we take it to my parents condo where it becomes part of a mass collection that is taken to the local hazardous waste facility!
We take used batteries to the City Recycle Depot!
I collect the used batteries and either take them to my daughter’s school or a community environmental day.
I don’t do much about it. Now I will take precautions. Thanks for the article!
I bring my batteries to a local recycling center.
We store our used batteries in a box and when we have about 20-30 we usually take them to staples in our nearby town to recycle them
We don’t recycle our batteries! I never knew where! This is great to know
I have a container in the pantry where we put all dead batteries and when I go to the recycle depot I take them and drop them off
My daughter’s school does a huge collection week of student’s bringing in dead batteries & they take them to be recycled. We have given a ton of batteries to them!
We have a bag we collect them in and then when we have a few gathered up we drop them off at Staples.
we save them and bring them to work. There is a recycling program available there.
We put all of the old used batteries in a box and when I get enough I take them to the recycling place
to our local recycling building!
We take them to our local recycling depot with our bottles
My workplace has a large container where I bring all my batteries and then it is shipped somewhere (but I don’t know where)
We bring them to our local recycling facility!
We have a bag in the garage where we keep old batteries, then we save them up and bring them to Home Depot to return. My work also has a program to collect old batteries!
My work has a bin where we can recycle batteries.
Our city have a recycling program, we always use it.
For all the years I’ve lived in this town, the transfer station has taken all types of batteries, car and reg ones.
We recycle them!
We take our batteries to our local recycling depot
We put our used batteries in a small plastic container in our garage and then take them to our local recycling depot. I work on the same property as the recycling depot, so I drop by whenever we have batteries, styrofoam, plastic bags or large pieces of cardboard to recycle (those items are not picked up by our recycling program).
We bring our used batteries to London Drugs to be recycled.
We do our best, I take the batteries to the local convenience store everytime we have some that are dead, they have a box just inside the door
I’m lucky – we have a box in our file room at work so I store mine up in a ziploc and every few months take them to work to properly dispose of!
I recycle my batteries at my local Canadian Tire store.
we collect them and bring them to london drugs
I`ve actually never thought about it before! Wow,I now know better!!
Our local fire department has a bin to drop off old batteries in to ensure they are recycled properly. I have visited call2recycle blog site and they have a wealth of information there as to the importance of doing this properly.
I have a container for batteries (used one) so its easy to ensure they are in the right place rather than getting tossed out
We bring them to the recycling depot!
We collect all our old batteries in a container & when full we take them to our local recycling depot.
thanks for the chance @modernmama.com
We bring our batteries to our local recycling place.
We have a container at work to recycle our old batteries
We put them in the separate container for batteries at our local dummp.
we always bring used batteries to battery deposit depots
I recycle my batteries at work – there is a special box for them!!!
I bring our used batteries to our local recycling place.
Currently I save them up and put them out on the road during Battery Pickup week which is about twice a year. If I get too much I take them to work and deposit them in the recycling bin for batteries.
I bring our batteries to Home Depot and drop them off to be disposed of properly
As a family we haven’t been too diligent about disposing of batteries properly because the nearest drop off location is hours away. In the future, we should tape both terminals of the batteries, store them and make a large drop off maybe once a year.
We usually use rechargeable batteries so I don’t have to worry about recycling them.
We take them to the recycling Depot
We save them in a Ziploc bag and then recycle once a year at the recycling center
There is a battery recycling box at work!
i keep either a clear container that is easily seen or sometimes a zip lock bag that we keep the batteries in so that they get disposed of properly
We have a container to store used batteries. Every few months we bring the batteries into staples for them to recycle.
Take them to Staples to the recycling box there.
We save the used batteries and deposit them on a recycle weekend in our city
I collect dead batteries throughout the year and take them to the recycling depot at the end of the year!
We bring our batteries to recycling depot
i try and remember to take mine to my local hardware store or IKEA
We bring them to a local recycling depot
first try and use rechargeable ones. Then collect the dead ones that aren’t rechargeable in a container once they die. Drop the container off at the recycling depot for household hazardous waste at the garbage transfer station near my home
Our family has a bin where we store old batteries and when we have enough to bother with, we take them to a local recycling center that even pays for them.
We make sure to bring them to our local recycling depot.