How to Recycle Batteries and Why Your Small Business Should

If your small business uses any electronics, there’s a good chance you go through lots of batteries. Whether you use single-use batteries or rechargeable ones, simply throwing out those batteries when you’re done with them can be extremely harmful to the environment.

But there are other options. There are several benefits for businesses that recycle batteries. And there are a few different ways you can recycle them as well.

How to Recycle Batteries

For recycling both single-use batteries and rechargeable batteries, check with your local recycling center to see what they accept. Earth 911 has a recycling locator you can use to find centers in your area that accept specific types of batteries and can tell you how to recycle batteries.

But for offices, companies like BigGreenBox offer a more convenient solution. You can purchase a box for $63, which includes all shipping and handling services. Then you can place the box in a convenient location in your office where your team can dispose of the batteries they use. Then when the box is full, you can ship it back to the company’s recycling facility.

Reasons to Recycle

Reduce Pollution

If you simply throw batteries away, they end up in landfills. But in the case of batteries, it’s not just about the raw materials ending up in landfills. Batteries contain corrosive materials that can be toxic when absorbed into soil or water.

In addition, recycling batteries can lead to less energy use for the companies that turn them into new batteries or other types of products. So by recycling batteries, you can potentially help your local area avoid soil and water contamination and conserve energy use.

Provide Materials for Other Products

The raw materials from batteries can, of course, be used by manufacturers to create even more batteries. Since it takes less energy for those companies to produce batteries out of recycled materials than it does to start from scratch, this could potentially result in some cost savings for those companies and their customers.

In addition, once some of the raw materials in batteries are broken down, they can be used in a wide range of other products, from sunscreen to dietary supplements. So recycling batteries can potentially help other types of companies reduce their energy use and raw materials as well.

Improve Public Image

Recycling batteries doesn’t necessarily come with the same cost savings or money-back potential as recycling other items like computers or cell phones. But there can still be tangible benefits for your business.

For example, Nielsen reports that more than half of consumers are willing to pay more for products or services from companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact. And recycling can be a huge part of that.

While you’re unlikely to suddenly get thousands of new customers just because you recycle batteries, you can include it as part of a larger recycling and sustainability effort. And that can help to improve your image with potential customers and also potentially improve employee morale if your team is passionate about environmental causes.

Batteries Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "How to Recycle Batteries and Why Your Small Business Should" was first published on Small Business Trends