Battery Recycling Program

Each household in the United States discards an estimated 2 pounds of batteries annually – that’s 2.5 million pounds of batteries entering the waste stream each year. These batteries contain such metals as mercury, cadmium, lithium, and copper. All of these metals pose a potential threat to our health and the environment if they are improperly disposed of by dumping or burning. Recycle household batteries!

Battery Facts:

• The metals in all household batteries can be reclaimed and used in other products.
• Alkaline batteries are the most common household battery and include AA, AAA, C, D, 9 volt, and lantern type batteries.
• In spite of recent reductions in mercury content, alkaline batteries still contribute a significant amount of mercury to the waste stream.
• Button batteries are so-called because of their size and shape. They are used in watches, cameras, calculators, hearing aids, and electronic games. Mercuric oxide and silver oxide are their primary components.
• Rechargeable batteries can be reused many times, but they do eventually wear out. These batteries can be recycled with your other household batteries.
• The new rechargeable alkaline battery has the advantage that it contains no added cadmium.

What To Do:

Just drop your household batteries at Sustainable Fairfax, 141 Bolinas (across from Town Hall). Leave them in the battery container on the front porch. We’ll take care of the rest. Fairfax is a model to other communities being one of the few cities in the Bay Area that is collecting batteries for recycling!

Return to the main Recycling page...