Battery Recycling Said To Be On The Rise

By John Laposky -- TWICE, 2/11/2010

Atlanta - Call2Recycle, the free rechargeable battery and cellphone collection program, today announced a 6.9 percent increase in overall collections in North America in 2009.

Call2Recycle collected 6.1 million pounds of rechargeable batteries for the year.

 The rise in battery collections is attributed to increased efforts of municipalities and major retailers, including The Home Depot, Apple Computer, RadioShack, Lowe's, Interstate All Battery Center and the Canadian home improvement chain RONA. Together, these organizations collected 20 percent more batteries for recycling in 2009 than in 2008, despite a lingering recession, Call2Recycle said.

 "Despite last year's lower sales of batteries and the products that use them, we're recycling more batteries than ever thanks to retailers that have embraced their role as environmental stewards," said Carl Smith, president and CEO of Rechargeable Battery Recycling, which operates Call2Recycle. "By using our recycling program to divert millions of pounds of solid waste from local landfills, businesses and consumers alike are making a statement that environmental sustainability is a priority, regardless of the economy."

 Call2Recycle calls itself the only free rechargeable battery and cellphone collection program in North America. Since 1994, Call2Recycle has diverted more than 50 million pounds of rechargeable batteries from local landfills and established a network of 30,000 recycling drop-off locations.

Learn more at www.call2recycle.org or call (877) 2RECYCLE.