Recharge, Reuse, Recycle: Why Rechargeable Batteries are the Greener Option

Greetings, and thanks for tuning back in for another installment of Greener Living. With the hullabaloo of the holidays followed by a bout of flu, it has been some time since my last post. However, I am back this week and ready to preach the environmental benefits of using rechargeable batteries over traditional, single-use alkaline alternatives.

With so many gadgets and technological devices on the market and in our homes, we are using more batteries than ever before. In fact, roughly 3 billion batteries are sold in the US every year, comprising a $50 billion market, according to battery statistics found online, albeit somewhat outdated ones. A mere 11% of those batteries sold are rechargeable batteries.

It may seem like a harmless enough process to exchange your dead batteries for new ones, a simple and convenient task we often do without even thinking, but in reality those single-use batteries that we so readily replace and throw away are creating serious amounts of hazardous waste.

According to the EPA, Americans throw away more than 3 billion batteries every year, amounting to 180,000 tons of battery waste. 86,000 tons of this waste consist of single-use alkaline batteries. In every state aside from California, it is legal to simply throw away these alkaline batteries with your regular trash. As detailed on Everyday Green’s post on battery statistics, when a battery enters a landfill the casing can be crushed or degraded to the point that it allows toxins to leach into the environment, potentially contaminating air and waterways. The heavy metals found in batteries, including nickel, cadmium, cobalt, and lead, in addition to the corrosive acids in batteries, can further contaminate our environment, posing health risks to us and our planet.

Am I suggesting that we do away with batteries altogether? No, of course not! I for one have a plethora of battery-powered devices that I use with extreme regularity. In fact, it was my use of these devices that first inspired me to cut down my battery waste by making the switch to rechargeable batteries.

With my alarm clock, lantern, and headlamp being used on the daily, I invested in some rechargeable triple-A batteries. After some research and reconnaissance of online reviews, I decided to purchase the Energizer Recharge Power Plus batteries, as they claimed to have the longest lifespan and were made with 4% recycled batteries. In an exciting turn of events, I already had a battery charger at home from a previous dalliance into the world of rechargeables. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, this charger, which was well over ten years old, was no longer functional. The batteries cost around $15 for a 4-pack, and the charger, which came with two double-A rechargeable batteries, cost $12 in my local grocery store. (Remember, shopping locally is the greener option as compared to ordering online).

Although I have just begun using the batteries, they can be recharged up to 1500 times and last up to 5-years under typical usage patterns. This has staggering ramifications from a waste-reduction standpoint. If I had a device that required three triple-A batteries, and I was replacing those batteries every month, I would be generating 36 batteries worth of waste every year. Instead, I will now be able to power the same hypothetical device using a mere three batteries, recharging as needed, for the next five years (as opposed to the 180 non-rechargeable batteries I would have otherwise used over a five-year span). In spite of the higher initial costs, the capacity to reuse rechargeable batteries has significant cost-saving ramifications as well.

Although charging times can take from 6-13 hours, these batteries retain their charge for up to 12 months and come pre-charged and ready to use! So, with a little forethought and planning ahead, they are just as convenient as the traditional single-use alkaline batteries currently inundating our landfills and polluting our planet.

However, switching to rechargeable batteries is just one facet of greener battery use. It’s important that we also commit to disposing of our used up, single-use, alkaline batteries in a responsible manner. Although these batteries can technically be disposed of in our traditional trash stream, from an environmental standpoint it’s best to seek an option to recycle your old batteries. These options include:
1. Calling your solid waste district to find out if your community has a collection program or upcoming event
2. Searching for areas that accept and recycle single-use alkaline batteries using Earth 911’s Recycling Search
3. Finding a mail-in recycling program such as Battery Solutions or Call2Recycle

At the end of their long lives, rechargeable batteries should also be disposed of responsibly, i.e. recycled.

Overall, a product that can be reused thousands of times as opposed to being continually discarded and replaced is a far more sustainable option. It is with this mindset that I encourage you to make the switch to rechargeable batteries as you continue your journey toward greener living. As always, let me know how it goes and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

~Sam