Menu
When it comes to recycling old batteries and bulbs, many organizations have questions. It can be confusing determining which particular products can be recycled and how your institution should actually go about recycling them. Here are the whats, wheres and hows of recycling, as well as the impact recycling has on your sustainability efforts.
We’re all aware that recycling is important, but here are a few specific reasons why your school should recycle its old batteries and bulbs.
Both batteries and light bulbs contain materials such as mercury, cadmium and lead that can harm the environment and even infiltrate water supplies. Proper recycling prevents these materials from leeching into the soil.
Obtaining many of the materials used in batteries is both expensive and harmful to the environment. Recycling reduces the need to mine more of these substances. This impact can be significant. For instance, almost 90% of the material found in a light bulb can be recycled, while 70% of a lead acid battery’s weight is reusable lead. Recycling also promotes reusing material in the production of new batteries, which can help keep their prices low.
Federal law mandates that certain types of batteries, including lead acid batteries, lithium-based and nickel cadmium batteries must be recycled. A number of states also have their own particular recycling laws. Ignoring these requirements can result in penalties, including severe fines.
A recent EPA study found that in a single year, recycling helps to create 681,000 jobs and accounts for $36.6 billion in wages and $6.7 billion in tax revenues.
Each year, Batteries Plus Bulbs recycles roughly 47.5 million pounds of lead acid batteries and 1.68 million pounds of other battery types. Due to differences in state and local regulations, there is some variation in the type of recyclable material your local Batteries Plus Bulbs store may accept. As a general rule though we accept the following:
In an average year, Batteries Plus Bulbs recycles over half a million pounds of light bulbs and over 30,000 pounds of ballasts. Batteries Plus Bulbs recycles the following types of light bulbs:
Batteries Plus Bulbs makes recycling batteries and bulbs easy.
Whether you’re a small school or a large university with dozens of different campuses, our experts will work with you to help tackle your recycling needs. When you choose us as your recycling partner, you can also be sure your school is in full compliance with all federal, state, municipal, EPA and DOT regulations. Plus, we can provide you with any documentation you require for your records.
Founded in 1988, Batteries Plus Bulbs is the largest and fastest-growing provider of batteries, light bulbs, and repairs for smartphones and tablets.
