As of this past January 1st, Chittenden Solid Waste District, our local solid waste management organization, now accepts single-use batteries for free recycling at drop-off centers and the environmental depot. Batteries have a much bigger carbon footprint than most things their sizes, and they add toxicity to landfills when just thrown away, so this is pretty great news for anyone interested in a cleaner environment or fighting climate change.

Here are the details from CSWD:

Starting January 1, 2016, CSWD Drop-Off Centers and the Environmental Depot will begin accepting  alkaline single-use batteries for recycling. To date, we have been able to accept only button-cell, lithium, rechargeable, lead-acid, and NiCd batteries for recycling. We are now adding single-use batteries to the roster of recyclable batteries.

Vermont is the first state to pass a product stewardship law that requires manufacturers of single-use batteries to pay for the collection and recycling of their products. An organization called Call2Recycle is overseeing the state-wide program, setting up nearly 100 collection sites. Since 1994, Call2Recycle has kept 100 million pounds of used batteries out of the landfill across the country.

All seven CSWD Drop-Off Centers and the Environmental Depot will accept single-use and other types of batteries free of charge, beginning in January.

★ DO NOT recycle batteries of any kind in your blue recycling bin or cart. They cannot be recycled with bottles, cans, paper, and other mandatory recyclables. They must be brought to a Drop-Off Center or the Environmental Depot for recycling.

Photo by John Seb Barber