Household Battery Recycling Program Collects Nearly 1,800 Pounds

SAN DIMAS, Calif., Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A pilot program to recycle used household batteries has collected 1,784 pounds of used household batteries since Earth Day. Thirty-nine San Gabriel Valley area businesses volunteered to serve as collection sites for consumers to properly dispose of household batteries. The take-back program is organized by the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) and funded by a $395,966 grant from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). California has prohibited trash disposal of batteries since 2006.

"By collecting batteries across the San Gabriel Valley we are significantly reducing batteries from going to landfills from local landfills," said Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR shares the responsibility for end-of-life product management among all entities involved in the product chain, with the primary responsibility placed on the producers.

Part of the initial project included surveys and focus groups to reveal what consumers do with household batteries when they reach their end of life. Of San Gabriel Valley residents surveyed, 59 percent were unaware that disposing batteries in the trash violates state law, and 56 percent indicated that although they know the law they still put batteries in the trash.

"The survey results indicated a great need to make battery recycling convenient," said Sanborn. "We are working with local businesses across the San Gabriel Valley to provide convenient battery collection opportunities for consumers who can recycle their batteries at stores they were already going to go to anyway."

Batteries accepted in this take-back project include standard AAA thru D size alkaline, and rechargeable batteries which come in five chemistries and can be found in many products including digital cameras, cordless phones, two-way radios, wireless keyboards, cordless power tools, and cell phones. All household batteries under 11 pounds, alkaline and rechargeable, can be recycled at take-back locations throughout San Gabriel Valley.

"We have been thrilled to collect over 170 pounds of batteries in the past few months," said, P.K. Lim owner of Huntington Pharmacy in San Marino. "Our customers are genuinely excited about the ease of doing the right thing and recycling."

Take-back locations range from car washes, grocery stores and camera stores, to hair salons and toy stores throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Some take-back sites have had huge success since April collecting upwards of 250 pounds. The average take-back locations are collecting 45 pounds of batteries over a three-month period. All locations are listed at www.sgvcog.org/batteryrecycling. Participating businesses have a large sticker in a front window to identify it as a take-back site.

Collection boxes are provided to the take-back locations by Call2Recycle®, which is a national battery stewardship organization funded by battery producers.

Residents may properly dispose of both alkaline and rechargeable batteries at HHW round-up events that happen throughout the year in the County of Los Angeles. These events are jointly sponsored by the County of Los Angeles and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County and funded by garbage rates.  The SGVCOG developed a recycling card that lists retailers that take-back batteries and other HHW like fluorescent lamps the County sponsored one-day events and permanent collection sites.

For general information about Extended Producer Responsibility go to www.calpsc.org. For more information about CalRecycle go to www.calrecycle.ca.gov.

SOURCE San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments

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