We all know that even premium quality batteries reach the end of their life after several years. During this time, the responsibility of disposing of them properly is crucial both for safety and environmental concerns. However, whether you're disposing of lithium batteries such as LiFEPO4, traditional lead-acid batteries, or AGM batteries, you can't just chuck them directly into the trash can. Batteries usually contain harmful chemicals that can pollute the air, water, and soil. The risk of explosion especially with lithium-ion batteries may also cause a fire in both landfills and garbage trucks. This is where the importance and benefits of recycling batteries come in. For one, it can help conserve our non-renewable resources while reducing the amount of material dumped into landfills. Recycling batteries also creates more jobs for people, since recycling facilities would need more manpower to oversee the whole process.
How To Recycle Batteries?
The first thing you need to do is to find the nearest battery drop-off recycling centre and check if your battery fits the requirements before dropping them off. Recycling battery packs can be complicated and requires professional knowledge so it's important that you don't try it at home or by yourself. You can find these facilities online or for those who live in small rural towns, find services that accept mail-in batteries. These organisations will either send you a battery recycling kit to safely put yours in, or have someone get it from you.
While your batteries are still waiting to be dropped off, make sure to follow the basic steps of safe battery handling and storage to keep you safe as well. Avoid storing them in metal containers and as much as possible, keep them in a place away from flammable materials. Try to avoid damages like dents and punctures as these may cause leakage of dangerous chemicals. If you have lithium-ion batteries, don't keep them in large quantities together, especially without covering exposed connectors.
The first thing your battery will undergo is sorting. Batteries in recycling organisations are first separated according to its components with the goal of recovering various component materials such as heavy metals for reuse. Batteries are usually crushed in the process using high speed hammers or shredders. Next, their liquid electrolytes or acid are drained and neutralised to be converted into water or processed into compounds like carbonates. The remaining parts of the crushed batteries are then passed through appropriate liquids to separate their components based on density.
Just to give you an idea: batteries are classified into three types before recycling. These are wet-cell, dry-cell non-rechargeable, and dry-cell rechargeable batteries. Wet-cell batteries are usually used to power cars, boats, and lawn tractors. Dry-cell non-rechargeable, on the other hand, are typically used at home to power small devices like remote controls. Lastly, dry-cell rechargeable batteries are where our camping batteries, house batteries, and caravan batteries fit in. This type includes lithium batteries, and are considered to have the most advantage when it comes to recycling because of their rechargeable naturemeaning there would be fewer batteries to dispose of compared to single-use ones.
Another option for old batteries would be reusing them. Nowadays, this is mostly done by incorporating them into energy storage systems with low battery performance. It's usually dubbed as a "stepped" battery and plays a huge part in helping reduce waste.
Battery recycling has always been practiced in a lot of countries and is constantly being improved to make it more convenient for people. If you still have that flat battery lying somewhere around your shed or garage, now is the time to drop them off and have them recycled. Remember, recycling is not just for you. By doing your part in caring for the environment, you are helping promote an effective material management system that will also aid the economy for the future generations.
