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Waste Prevention Information Exchange Batteries |
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Also see Fluorescent Lamps and Tubes, and Hazardous Substances/Universal Waste in this directory. All batteries are considered hazardous waste in California when they are discarded. This includes all batteries of sizes AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9 Volt, and all other batteries, both rechargeable and single use. All batteries must be recycled, or taken to a household hazardous waste disposal facility, a universal waste handler (e.g., storage facility or broker), or an authorized recycling facility. See a list of all wastes banned from the trash. Batteries are considered hazardous because of the metals and/or other toxic or corrosive materials contain within. Batteries are potentially a valuable source of recyclable metal. All batteries in California that are intended for disposal must be recycled, or taken to a household hazardous waste disposal facility, a universal waste handler (e.g., storage facility or broker), or an authorized recycling facility. According to a report entitled, Household Universal Waste Generation in California, August 2002, there were 507,259,000 batteries sold in California in the year 2001. According to survey results published in the report, only 0.55% of these batteries were recycled. Hazardous waste regulations designate a category of hazardous wastes called "universal waste." This category includes many items, batteries, fluorescent lamps, cathode ray tubes, instruments that contain mercury, and others. Under California's Universal Waste Rule (PDF, 108 KB) households and conditionally exempt small quantity generators were allowed to dispose batteries (not lead/acid batteries of the type used in autos), fluorescent lamps, mercury thermostats, and electronic devices to the trash through February 8, 2006. Local trash companies or other agencies were allowed to ban these items from the trash any time before February 8, 2006. Large and small quantity handlers are required to ship their universal waste to either another handler, a universal waste transfer station, a recycling facility, or a disposal facility. Under the California's Universal Waste Rule (PDF, 108 KB), specified waste generators were permitted to send specified universal wastes to landfills, but this disposal allowance has expired. Contact the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) office near you for more information. Also see the DTSC Web page on universal waste. Where to Recycle or Safely Dispose Batteries
Other Ways that You Can Help
CIWMB Programs and Services
CIWMB PublicationsCIWMB has either printed or Web publications on this topic that you can find at either our publication search page or our Web site search page. However, not all of these publications apply to "waste prevention" in the most literal use of that term. CIWMB publications that do apply to waste prevention include:
See also Fluorescent Lamp and Tube Posters and Stickers. Other ResourcesOther Documents
Web Sites
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Last updated: May 05, 2008 Waste Prevention Information Exchange www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WPIE/ Comments: wpinfoex@ciwmb.ca.gov (916) 341-6363 |
