Thursday, March 24, 2011

Concept for removing batteries from the waste stream

Recently at work I was posed with a suggestion to provide a collection bin at waste facilities so people can responsibly dispose of discarded batteries. The problem is that wast facilities are located on the outer parts of towns and cities...who would drive out of their way to dispose of the batteries that went dead in the remote the other day?

I like the thought of keeping batteries and their toxins out of the ground from now on, I just couldn't think of a way to make something work without making it difficult or expensive.

Another thought was to put collection bins in places supermarkets where people go anyhow...but I feared that this could present a safety concern for these places and that they wouldn't be interested (although I didn't ask so it may be a possibility). The other issue in regards to this idea is that they still need to be collected and transported away, a cost.

Then it hit me, fire authorities always recommend changing batteries when it's daylight savings...to get everyone in the habit of checking their smoke alarms. What if we had a mass collection of batteries the day that daylight savings kicks in? Tell residents that this will be an annual thing and to put used batteries away for that day. This does sound like a bit of a hassle but I think it can be worked.

Ideally where this idea were to be implemented I would recommend running a campaign encouraging the use of rechargeable batteries, more ideally charged by renewable sources.

Please comment with your opinion on this concept.

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