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Automobile Battery Disposal
Spent automobile batteries and other waste lead-acid batteries are toxic garbage that should be discarded appropriately via car battery recycling programmes. Lead-acid batteries have several known applications, including in motorbikes, boats, emergency lights, or air conditioning units.
Various localities and municipalities offer Domestic Hazardous Waste or Chemical Pickup programmes that accept and recycle spent lead-acid batteries. If your company or enterprise has a large number of vehicle batteries to recycle, consult a waste removal company to identify appropriate collection criteria or a pick-up program.
Batteries supply electricity for many of the things we use in our everyday lives, to the point that they have become an essential element of our survival. Every gadget we possess, from vehicles to refrigerators to laptop computers, is powered by a battery. However, like everything in the world of electrical and digital devices, batteries have their own set of drawbacks. The most severe issue is their impact on the environment and your health.
Single-Use Batteries
Throwing a single-use lead-acid car battery in the garbage is straightforward, but it is not a responsible way to dispose of it. All batteries, even alkaline, contain various harmful elements and compounds such as zinc, lithium, cadmium, lead, or, in some instances, mercury.
Simply throwing them out in a conventional bin that is taken to the landfill would result in the release of these dangerous components into the earth. As a result, it is quite likely to create a slew of significant health issues in the surrounding region. This is why it is critical to discard batteries correctly.
In Australia, there are comprehensive battery recycling and disposal guidelines. Read on to discover how you can dispose of your car batteries in Australia.
Because lead-acid batteries contain hazardous material, they must be appropriately disposed of. Car batteries have mercury, sulfuric acid, cadmium, and other harmful materials that, if not discarded appropriately, can be hazardous to the environment. If you have old vehicle batteries in your carport and want to recycle them, don't hesitate to get in touch with a reliable car battery recycling company.
You cannot throw away used car batteries like you would your regular garbage because they contain lead-acid, which is highly harmful. Fortunately, many businesses take old or dead automobile batteries for recycling. You can also dispose of automobile batteries at garbage dumping or recycling facilities that handle hazardous items.
If you don't know where to look, simply call a rubbish removal agency. Even if they do not collect batteries, they probably know where you can drop off these hazardous products.
Rechargeable Batteries
Most critical equipment and instruments, such as your powered tools, laptop, phone, or camera, use rechargeable batteries, including lithium-ion. Luckily, finding a facility to discard your batteries is straightforward and often free. Many merchants in Australia engage in a scheme that promotes firms to repair or recycle lithium batteries.
Simply enquire with your neighbourhood's electronics merchants, hardware shops, and municipality to see if they take battery contributions. In some circumstances, you do not even have to disconnect the batteries from your old electrical gadgets, whether they are biomedical or smartphones.
Other kinds of rechargeable batteries can include cadmium and nickel, which pose an environmental risk when disposed of in a furnace or landfill. As a result, these units must be disposed of at hazardous materials sites or recycling facilities. To identify these locations, simply go to your local council's website and contact them.
Deep Cycle Batteries
A deep cycle battery is engineered to provide consistent power production over a long duration while also considerably draining the battery. After this point, it should be recharged to complete a cycle.
Alkaline Batteries
Alkaline batteries are typically used in basic battery-operated devices such as smoke detectors, remotes, toys, torches, and other home devices. They come in several styles and sizes, ranging from around 9V to AAA. The correct disposal procedures for these devices might vary based on local trash restrictions.
The majority of alkaline batteries manufactured in the 1990s were made of non-hazardous substances. Several local governments still demand that all these units be considered hazardous trash, so you must dispose of them at a certified recycling site or community centre. If you have quite a lot of alkaline batteries to dispose of, avoid tossing them all out at once since the residue inside might be hazardous.
Australia's Battery Recycling Trends
Presently, almost two-thirds of batteries, totalling around 8,000 tonnes, are thrown in landfills. In Australia, just about 4% of batteries are recycled. Approximately 75% of respondents in a poll stated they could recycle used batteries if there was a simpler method to do so and held battery makers accountable for recycling batteries.
They also said that they would instead give away old batteries to a store that collects and recycles them. One of the explanations of why consumers did not purchase rechargeable batteries was because they are too pricey. They were also under the impression that most rechargeable batteries did not perform as well as standard batteries.
Why Should You Recycle Your Car Battery?
Lead-acid batteries are a vital element of contemporary life and can be found in automobiles as well as a variety of industrial and commercial vehicles and devices. A vehicle’s lead-acid battery, on the other hand, turns into hazardous waste over time. Batteries contain sulphuric acid, lead, or lead compounds, which can pollute land and water if improperly discarded and can be hazardous to people.
When it comes time to trash your old automobile battery, rest assured that all parts can be recycled ethically. The acid in the cell is neutralised during this procedure, and the polymer and lead are isolated.
Furthermore, recovered batteries can be utilised to make fresh batteries. Doing so uses less energy when compared to extracting raw resources to manufacture a new battery from scratch. Moreover, recycling your car batteries helps keep our planet clean by minimising the number of dangerous substances entering it, as discarding is avoided.
Can You Put Car Batteries In A Recycling Bin?
Recycling a vehicle battery entails you doing more than simply throwing it in your recycling bin since they require a unique procedure not accessible at standard recycling sites.
As a result, you cannot recycle your vehicle battery in regular recycling and must therefore send it to a car battery recycling centre. Notably, there are enough of these recycling centres around in Australia, so you should not have to go far as there's most definitely one in your location.
Where Can You Recycle Car Batteries?
Numerous big automobile and battery businesses provide free automobile battery recycling. Repco, Supercheap Auto, Battery World, and R&J Batteries are a few examples. Many smaller businesses, such as good waste removal firms, will also provide these services. As such, all you will need to do is conduct a Google Maps search to find the most convenient option for you.
How Long Do Automobile Batteries Last?
Car batteries have a lifespan of roughly four years till they become worthless. The amount of hot, chilly, and muggy days can all influence the lifespan of an automobile battery. Based on how you use your battery, heat or dampness in your car can degrade battery lifespan by around 20% to 40% every year.
Car batteries progressively lose their power, so they can continue to function for weeks or even months, but their performance steadily decreases over time.
How Can You Tell If Your Car Battery Needs To Be Replaced?
It's recommended that you change your car battery if it's not retaining a charge. If your alternator or ignition systems are in good working order, but you still cannot get the engine to run, even after multiple attempts, you most probably need a replacement battery.
Use A Reputable Car Battery Disposal Company
This guide answers any queries you might have concerning disposing of your car's old battery. It also goes on to explain how you can dispose of other types of batteries. However, if you still have any questions, you can consult a reputable waste management company for more specialised advice. You can also reach out to a car battery recycling company to take your used car battery off your hands and recycle it.