B-+disposing+of+batteries

How Batteries Are Recycled  By: Katherina Baranova Through a process called thermal recovery, the metals batteries are made of can be reclaimed. The batteries are collected and sent to the recycling plant where the battery materials are separated. Reusable metals like nickel, lead, iron, cobalt and cadmium are reclaimed through a high temperature process that vaporizes paper, plastic, gel, and other undesirable substances ths leaving only the valuable metals behind. The metal, such as nickel, cadmium, and steel, can then be used again. Rechargeable Batteries Cell phones, MP3 players and laptops contain rechargeable batteries. These batteries can have toxic heavy metals inside them, and if they are tossed out with the regular garbage, the cadmium in the batteries will dissolve and leach into the water supply, causing serious health problems such as pulmonary edema, a congestive lung condition. Alkaline Batteries Alkaline batteries can be thrown in the trash in the US except in California where they must be recycled. Before alkaline batteries contained mercury. Now, they do not and so do not need to be recycled, though if you have a battery from before 1997 it can contain up to 10 times the mercury in modern batteries and so should always be recycled. Lead Acid Batteries Lead acid batteries are the most successfully recycled due in part to legislation. 98% of all lead betteries are recycled while only 1 in 6 households in North America recycle their small rechargeable batteries. Due to this avid recycling, most lead-acid batteries now contain up to 60 to 80 percent recycled lead and plastic. The recycling cycle can go on indefinitely, so the battery in your car has probably been recycled many, many times.  Uretsky, Samuel. "Cadmium Poisoning Information." //Healthline//. The Gale Group Inc., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. .

Buchmann, Isidor. "Recycling your Battery." //Batteries in a Portable World//. Cadex Electronics Inc., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. .

Ford-Martin, Paula Anne. "Battery Recycling." Environmental Encyclopedia. Ed. Marci Bortman, et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2003. 114-115. Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. Smith, Carl. "Recycling rechargeable batteries: how small improvements can add up to more sustainable operations." Sustainable Facility Nov. 2008: 36. Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web. 28 Sept. 2010.