Batteries make up about .5 percent of our household garbage, but these little bits of power end up putting a large amount of toxins into the landfill, which then seeps into our soil.Studies show that by 2010, Canadians will throw away about 495 million batteries, which is an increase of 150 million since 2004. As well, only two percent of all batteries are recycled. So, you may think that batteries are small and only have a few toxins in them, but when you multiply those toxins by 495 million, you get a lot of contaminated soil. In the United States, the problem is even worse where over three billion batteries are purchased each year, and only a fraction are thrown away.
Naturally, this creates a big problem for our environment, so for our 47th day of Our Green Year, we have decided to not only use only rechargeable batteries, you can recharge them 500 times before you have to get rid of them. That means you will save 500 battery packages (usually 1,000 to 2,000 batteries in two and four packs) by simply buying a rechargeable batteries.
Of course, if we have learned anything from Our Green Year, it is that we can't be content with just doing one thing, we have to go the extra mile. So, Layla and I will be recycling all our old batteries and our rechargeable batteries when the time comes. We know everyone should do that, but again we want to go even further.
As a result, instead of charging the batteries with the wall outlet, and thereby wasting energy that could be used elsewhere, we are going to charge our rechargeable batteries with solar power. We will be purchasing the Eliminator Solar Panel from Canadian Tire to help us charge our batteries, and even use our appliances with the power of the sun (but that is another blog ;) )
Batteries are a big part of our life, but they are also a big part of the toxic waste created by landfills that will exist in the ground, and our ground water and soil for decades. Let's stop this problem before it gets any worse and begin recycling our old batteries and buying rechargeable batteries instead.
To find a battery recycling location near you, visit this website:
http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/dropoff/index.php
If you have any pictures of you doing green things, send them to us and we will post them as we have for Min, Colin and Maggie (see Photo Gallery on side). Show the world what you are doing!
Eliminator Solar Panel,
