[Novalug] [OT} Recycling Lithium Ion Batteries

[Bonnie Dalzell]

Here is a company that is actually recycling them:

http://www.toxco.com/

They just got a grant to work further on the technology.

The trick is to have some place locally that accumulates enough of them to 
be worth shipping for recycling.

Here is Baltimore CO MD we have places at the landfill that take 
recycling things of different types. I will have to see if there is a 
Lithium Ion battery section. Although you have to be a county resident to 
dump garbage in the landfill section  there is no check on wether you are 
a resident when you come into the recycling section which makes be think 
that the county may actually be making money on the recycling.

I had accumulated 8 large contractor's bags of crushed aluminum 
softdrink cans  and took them to a commercial metal recycling company over 
on the east side of Baltimore and got $100 for them (plus $15 for two 
lengths of copper plumbing pipe left over from a plumbing repair.)

Here are some notes from the Falls Church VA recycling page at:

http://www.fallschurchva.gov/Content/Government/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/Recycling.aspx?cnlid=2377

### quote from Fairfax County VA Recycling Page ###

Batteries - Button, car, lithium, mercury, and rechargeable batteries are 
considered hazardous waste. Regular alkaline A, AA, AAA, C and D batteries 
are non-hazardous and may be disposed of in the trash.

     *
       If it is rechargeable, it is recyclable!  Take Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, Li-ion, 
or Pb (small sealed) rechargeable batteries to the Police Department (300 
Park Ave) and place in the RBRC box under the dispatcher window.
     *
       Take car batteries to local service stations, Fairfax County I-66 
Transfer Station, or the semi-annual City of Falls Church Household 
Hazardous Waste Collection Event.
     *
       Take button batteries to Fairfax County Hazardous Waste Facility or 
semi-annual City of Falls Church Household Hazardous Waste Collection 
Event.
     *
       Check the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation drop-off sites.
### end quote ###

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation site is:

http://www.call2recycle.org/home.php?c=1&w=1&r=Y


These people have a service where they will send a box to a business 
address that can be used to collect old recyclable Lithium ION batteries 
and cell phones. They will not send the box to a home however.

You can request the box via e-mail.

customerservice at call2recycle.org

However I just spoke to them on the phone and currently they do not 
recycle the non-rechargable Lithium batteries. The suggestion that 
the person I spoke to was to ask a local jeweler or watch repair person 
on camera shop how such batteries are handled locally.



  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        Bonnie Dalzell, MA
mail:5100 Hydes Rd PO Box 60, Hydes,MD,USA 21082-0060|EMAIL:bdalzell at qis.net
Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
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