If there's one kind of electronic component that's important to recycle year-round, it's batteries.
Many household batteries contain toxic materials, like lead and cadmium, and throwing them in the garbage risks contaminating the air, soil and ground water.
But properly disposing of batteries has gotten easier in recent years, as many retailers and government waste departments collect and recycle batteries for free.
Here's a look at each battery type and their recycling requirements:
• Alkaline: Considered safe to dispose of in the trash, though some battery recycling programs accept them (and some made before 1996 may contain mercury).
• Rechargeable: Nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH), lithium-ion (Li-ion) and small sealed lead-acid (Pb) rechargeables should always be recycled.
People are also reading…
• Button: So-called button or coin batteries (flat, dime-to-quarter-sized cells) used in watches and other small electronics can contain mercuric oxide, silver oxide, lithium and zinc and should be recycled.
• Lithium: Single-use lithium batteries may contain perchlorates and should be recycled.
Where to recycle:
• Retailers: Most major electronics retailers, including Best Buy and RadioShack, offer free recycling of batteries.
• Pima County: Free battery recycling is available at Pima County's Household Hazardous Waste Collection sites, including the main site at 2440 W. Sweetwater Drive. For other locations and hours, call 888-6947 or go to www.pima.gov/deq/waste/householdhaz.html