spent batteries

[Lava]

Thanks for all the tips. You know, it was sucky NiCad batteries I tried back in the day, so it looks like I'll have to try out the NiMH.

What are the ramifications of the lower NiMH voltage? Less burn time? Is the discharge curve of NiMH flat or sloped like alkaline?

[Biggimo1]

They have a pretty flat discharge. Also they stay at about 1.2v. Alkeys start at 1.5 and drop to 1.2 or lower as soon as you put a load on them. NiMH are much better. Check out Batteryspace.com for good prices.

You can also find Li-ION at this site.

Brian B.

[hank moon]

Previous discussion on the Sanyo Eneloop NiMH:

[Dangerjudy]

Our grotto uses pailmail, and has for several years now. We take it out of the grotto funds.

http://www.batteryrecycling.com/pailmail.html

We have the smaller bucket and send it in about four times a year. They supposedly use it in the manufacture on rebar.

Dan, how much does it cost to send the full pail in? I am interested in this program, because we have many spent AA's here at work and I also find them in caves and on hikes etc. It's a pet peeve of mine that I couldn't find a way to recycle them so if the cost of sending in full pails is reasonable I'd be up for getting a pail from them.

[hydrology_joe]

Dan, how much does it cost to send the full pail in? I am interested in this program, because we have many spent AA's here at work and I also find them in caves and on hikes etc. It's a pet peeve of mine that I couldn't find a way to recycle them so if the cost of sending in full pails is reasonable I'd be up for getting a pail from them.

I'm curious to know the shipping on these also. A bucket full of batteries has got to be pretty heavy.

I try some NiMH before making the committment. Until then, I'll keep on

[bsignorelli]

I assumed that the $8/$10 you paid upfront covered the cost of gettign a shipping lable to mail it back to them with. Is this not right?

[NZcaver]

I assumed that the $8/$10 you paid upfront covered the cost of gettign a shipping lable to mail it back to them with. Is this not right?

Their website has the $8 and $10 pail prices listed - "plus shipping" - so I assume shipping a heavy pail of batteries costs a bunch of extra dollars. Anyone know how much?

[bsignorelli]

Their website has the $8 and $10 pail prices listed - "plus shipping" - so I assume shipping a heavy pail of batteries costs a bunch of extra dollars. Anyone know how much?

Oh see I read that as the $8 paid for the pail and shipping lable and the "plus shipping" was to mail you the initially empty bucket.

But someone should call them, find out and report back to me (here! I meant report back to here!) and then I can debrief the local Arkanistan population.

[Dan Sullivan]

From Colorado, the shipping is running around $22.00 for the $8.00, 2 gallon bucket. The recycling charge is usually around $25.00. It takes our grotto about 3 or 4 months to fill it. Here is how it works.

We call them and they send Fed-ex to stop by and pick up the bucket. Within about a week we get a new bucket in the mail, no charge. The bill soon follows with the charge for freight and the cost of the recycling. If you send them some other type of battery, such as a lithium, you get charged at a different recycle rate for those batteries. You need to keep a good eye on what you are sending in the bucket.

So you have a one time $8.00 fee. Shipping will very on your location. I suggest you call them and get the correct price for your location. 2 gallons of Alkaline batteries cost about $25.00 plus shipping. Total cost from Colorado is around $47.00 for the 2 gallon bucket. Is it worth it? SoCoMoGro thinks so. I hope your grotto thinks so too.

Edited to add: The $10.00 bucket is 5 gallons in size. I'm guessing the cost would be over $100.00 (by about a gallon) from Colorado. I would recommend the 2 gallon size as a good grotto size.

[NZcaver]

From Colorado, the shipping is running around $22.00 for the $8.00, 2 gallon bucket. The recycling charge is usually around $25.00. It takes our grotto about 3 or 4 months to fill it...
...Is it worth it? SoCoMoGro thinks so. I hope your grotto thinks so too...

Thanks, Dan. Good to know!

Wow - the cost sure adds up quick. I didn't even realize you're PAYING THEM to recycle the batteries, in addition to the postage and cost of the pail. (I thought the "pennies per pound" referred to shipping costs.) Paying out of your own pocket to "do the right thing" and have them recycled seems counterproductive to me. It's hard enough getting some people to separate recyclables from their trash, even when there IS a can/bottle deposit refund in their state! On the one hand, you could spend the time and effort ordering a pail and paying to have your batteries recycled (plus shipping). Or on the other hand, you could just take 2 seconds and dump them in the trash. Some of us obviously feel strongly about recycling whenever possible, but for everyone else - where's the incentive? (Or at least the lack of disincentive?)

I definitely say "kudos" to your grotto, and anyone else who makes the effort to do this at their own cost.

As a side note, I used to work in an industry that went through a lot of sealed lead acid batteries (mostly 12v, 4 or 7 A/h). My former (idiot) boss used to just dump the old ones in the trash. I managed to find a recycle place that would actually pay a few pennies per pound for them (this was in Connecticut). It wasn't like I did it for the money, but at least my company (or me personally) didn't have to PAY for it! A couple of years later (working for another company) we used a different recycling facility, but with a no-money-but-no-cost system this time. It would really be nice if recycling alkalines and lithiums worked the same way.

That's the end of my rant. I think I'll stick with my rechargeable NiMHs...

[Dangerjudy]

From Colorado, the shipping is running around $22.00 for the $8.00, 2 gallon bucket. The recycling charge is usually around $25.00. It takes our grotto about 3 or 4 months to fill it...
...Is it worth it? SoCoMoGro thinks so. I hope your grotto thinks so too...

Thanks, Dan. Good to know!

Wow - the cost sure adds up quick. I didn't even realize you're PAYING THEM to recycle the batteries, in addition to the postage and cost of the pail. (I thought the "pennies per pound" referred to shipping costs.) Paying out of your own pocket to "do the right thing" and have them recycled seems counterproductive to me. It's hard enough getting some people to separate recyclables from their trash, even when there IS a can/bottle deposit refund in their state! On the one hand, you could spend the time and effort ordering a pail and paying to have your batteries recycled (plus shipping). Or on the other hand, you could just take 2 seconds and dump them in the trash. Some of us obviously feel strongly about recycling whenever possible, but for everyone else - where's the incentive? (Or at least the lack of disincentive?)

I definitely say "kudos" to your grotto, and anyone else who makes the effort to do this at their own cost.

As a side note, I used to work in an industry that went through a lot of sealed lead acid batteries (mostly 12v, 4 or 7 A/h). My former (idiot) boss used to just dump the old ones in the trash. I managed to find a recycle place that would actually pay a few pennies per pound for them (this was in Connecticut). It wasn't like I did it for the money, but at least my company (or me personally) didn't have to PAY for it! A couple of years later (working for another company) we used a different recycling facility, but with a no-money-but-no-cost system this time. It would really be nice if recycling alkalines and lithiums worked the same way.

That's the end of my rant. I think I'll stick with my rechargeable NiMHs...

I hear ya - it doesn't seem fair to pay for the cost of recyling them - but on the other hand we all pay for the cost of not recycling them.
I see it as a program one could do out of altruism.

[Dan Sullivan]

Doing the right thing is not always cheap. I talked to a recycle place in Denver who takes alkalines for free. They send them to Kimball Nebraska to be incinerated. I was told (by them) that incineration is the best method of recycling old batteries. I kept looking until I found the Pail Mail method. Our grotto is in full support of funding this, but then again, we do live in Colorful Colorado and are very aware of our environment. It would be nice if other grotto's followed our lead, but I do agree it is much easier to just toss them in the trash. That's what the battery manufacturers recommend as proper disposal.


Here is a link to the instructions we use.

http://www.batteryrecycling.com/Battery ... deForm.pdf

I don't expect a private person to go to this expense, but a grotto??? Sure, why not, what better reason to spend some of the grotto fund. If you don't want to pay for it, then bring your old batteries to our grotto meeting and we will do it for you. We welcome anyone and everyone to our meetings.

I have switched to using rechargables more and more, myself. I still end up with alkaline batteries from time to time. It kills me to throw them in the trash, so I don't. I sleep a little better at night knowing that they are being properly recycled. Maybe you will too.

[David_Campen]

Doing the right thing is not always cheap.

But is recycling them really "doing the right thing" ? What is the cost to the environment of the energy expended (oil and coal mined and burned) in transporting these spent cells around the country and supporting the people who do the recycling?

Alkaline cells seem to me to be essentially nontoxic; certainly, it would be better not to generate spent alkaline cells in the first place but given that you do then what is wrong with tossing them in the landfill?

[Dangerjudy]

Alkaline cells seem to me to be essentially nontoxic;

Are they really non-toxic? I figured they'd be full of heavy metals and toxic chemicals.

[NZcaver]

Doing the right thing is not always cheap. I talked to a recycle place in Denver who takes alkalines for free. They send them to Kimball Nebraska to be incinerated. I was told (by them) that incineration is the best method of recycling old batteries...:

Interesting. I don't know that incineration really counts as "recycling" - unless they make some use of the incinerated remains, perhaps?
Or are they just stating that incineration is environmentally the best way of disposing of batteries?

But is recycling them really "doing the right thing" ? What is the cost to the environment of the energy expended (oil and coal mined and burned) in transporting these spent cells around the country and supporting the people who do the recycling? Alkaline cells seem to me to be essentially nontoxic; certainly, it would be better not to generate spent alkaline cells in the first place but given that you do then what is wrong with tossing them in the landfill?

Another interesting observation. Using that rationale, how do you rate the bottle/can recycling programs around the country? Are they a good thing (as many people assume), or do you think they also expend too much energy dealing with materials that are essentially non-toxic?