Need more room in your kitchen drawers for tape, scissors and gift wrap as the holiday season approaches? If you're like most people, you probably have lots of old batteries cluttering up drawers in your house. Sorting through them is challenging — and you may be tempted to just throw them away. But did you know it's illegal to throw rechargeable batteries in the trash?
The New York State Rechargeable Battery Law was signed into law in 2010, making it illegal for anyone to throw rechargeable batteries in the trash. Just like paper, plastic and glass, rechargeable batteries can and should be recycled instead — fortunately, most residents of New York State live within a few miles of a battery drop-off location.
The law also requires retailers that sell rechargeable batteries or rechargeable battery-containing products to accept used rechargeable batteries from New York State consumers. Rechargeable batteries are commonly found in devices like cell phones, laptops, cordless power tools, cordless phones, cameras, two-way radios, medical equipment and more.
"New York State has been firmly committed to battery recycling for a long time, and we find that the state's consumers want to do the right thing and recycle," says Leo Raudys, CEO of Call2Recycle. "But too many people just don't know how or where to recycle batteries when they reach end-of-life."
How battery recycling helps the environment
Founded in 1994, Call2Recycle® is committed to protecting and preserving the environment through responsible battery recycling, resulting in over 150 million pounds of batteries being kept out of landfills. Recycling batteries also makes an impact by providing valuable materials for making new batteries, which reduces mining and extraction.
Get ready for the holidays by clearing out
To help you clear out your battery clutter ahead of the holidays — which will also help you figure out what new batteries you need for any electronic gifts — designate clearly labeled containers to separate new batteries from those headed for recycling so you can get them out of the house. Then make a plan to take your old batteries safely to a collection site.
To make it easy for everyone to do the right thing, Call2Recycle partners with New York State by providing access to its battery recycling solutions at thousands of convenient community and retail locations including The Home Depot, Lowe's and Staples, where Call2Recycle ensures batteries are collected, transported and recycled responsibly.
Keep your holidays safer
Did you know that batteries can also be a fire safety hazard? By properly disposing of batteries, you can help reduce the likelihood of causing dangerous sparking or even a fire at home, in the trash — or at battery collection facilities.
"Batteries play a key role in powering our households, which adds to the scrutiny on the safety aspects of storage and collection," said Eric Frederickson, Vice President of Operations for Call2Recycle. "Recycling batteries can prevent potentially hazardous materials from entering the waste stream and protect against fires caused by trashed batteries."
New York is making progress
Battery recycling in New York is growing rapidly, with more sites available and more people making use of them every year. There are now over 2,000 actively participating collection sites, providing access for 96% of New York's population living within a 10-mile radius of an available Call2Recycle drop-off location. In 2022 alone, Call2Recycle collected nearly 240,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries and through August 2023, over 135,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries have been collected for recycling.
Abide by the law, clear out clutter and make your home safer for the holiday season. You can take rechargeable batteries to the New York retailer where you bought the original device or any participating location — just visit Call2Recycle.org/locator to find a drop-off site near you.
Learn more about battery safety, storage and recycling at Call2Recycle.org/newyork.
