Media residents are celebrating all the progress made towards becoming a zero-waste town. We recycle our plastic, paper, and metal, we compost our kitchen waste, and we drop off our sensitive papers and electronics for recycling as part of the annual Shred & E-waste event held in partnership with Nether Providence and Swarthmore. But what about all those used batteries sitting in the drawer?
While some states have laws regulating their disposal, Pennsylvania does not. While alkaline and zinc carbon batteries supposedly can be safely disposed of in the trash, the EPA recommends taking them to a battery recycling center. Lithium batteries cannot be put into the trash and must be recycled.
So, what do we do with them? There are several places nearby that will properly dispose of them:
- Batteries Plus Bulbs (154 Baltimore Pike, Springfield) accepts all types of batteries – see details at https://www.batteriesplus.com/recycling
- Mom’s Organic Market (1149 E Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr) accepts most batteries and shoes, eyeglasses, cork, and oyster shells – see details at https://momsorganicmarket.com/recycle-center/
- Home Depot partners with Call2Recycle (700 Reed Road, Broomall ) accepts rechargeable batteries – see details at https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/how-to-dispose-of-batteries/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90124a115f1
- Providence Friends Meeting (105 N Providence Rd, Media) has a collection bin inside the carriage shed – see details at https://mailchi.mp/d7c5b334accd/pmm-news-and-reunion-11419681?e=1567ecd0c9
Please utilize these resources to keep batteries out of the landfills.