Many do not notice, but if batteries are disposed incorrectly, it can greatly harm the environment. The safe disposal of batteries is not only important to you, but to the environment as well. A battery takes chemical energy and converts it to electrical energy. The chemical by-products become or are hazardous. If the batteries are left in the environment, the chemicals can drain out and leech into water supplies and the like, causing people to be exposed to the hazardous chemicals.
Some stores have offer safe battery disposal. Batteries, Etc., is a store that sells batteries for every need, including, your automobile, cellular phone, camera and household items like radios. Primary cell batteries use different chemical bases for different uses. Alkaline batteries are typically used for radios; carbon-zinc batteries for toys and flashlights; lithium for cameras, calculators and watches; Mercury is used for hearing aids, pacemakers as well as some cameras, calculators and watches; silver and zinc are used for hearing aids. Your own county may offer safe ways to dispose of batteries as well.
The amount of chemicals and or metals in batteries can be staggering. For example, a car battery has almost 20 pounds of lead in it and 16 ounces of sulfuric acid. Mercury and silver oxide batteries can be disposed of at some jewelry stores and pharmacies. Companies buy the used batteries and recycle the metals, which is safer for everyone. You can toss out your household batteries, but although not widely known, or advertised, you really should take them to a recycler; any chemical or metal based item is potentially hazardous.
The metals and chemicals found in batteries can leach into soil and then into municipal water supplies. When ingested, the metals are hazardous to humans, plants and animals. Obviously a plant doesn't "ingest" food or water per se, but the metals reach the plant through the root system. Children are the most susceptible to the metals and chemicals in batteries, which can damage their central nervous system, cause seizures, learning disabilities and mental defect.
More than two billion household batteries are disposed of each year and those are only the ones that are sent to landfills. If they were taken to recyclers instead, many health risks would be avoided. You will receive many differing opinions on the proper disposal of batteries, but the truth is no one really knows the extent of the hazards that are created by improper battery disposal. Most of the environmental hazards that face the world are caused by businesses and corporations using too little caution when disposing of chemicals and metals. In fact, most places will tell you that you can toss out regular household batteries in your local landfill. But what if they are wrong? For example, if over two billion batteries are tossed into landfills annually, the "trace" metals multiply to an amount that is concerning. Perhaps it is best to err on the side of caution, which would indicate that you should take your batteries to a recycler.
In the 1960s, when DDT was first introduced, the commercials for it showed large families eating on long rows of tables while the DDT is being sprayed directly on them. This was to insure the public that DDT was safe and effective at getting rid of insects and bugs that were eating crops. Of course it became obvious that DDT wasn't safe because it began killing wildlife, including birds and the DDT was contaminating water sources. All metals and chemicals whether trace levels or not should be treated as harmful to people and to the environment. We should prevent disasters, not wait to see what will happen and then try to clean them up. Technology is a wonderful thing, but not at the expense of our health and the health of our environment.
====================================================[ END ]====