The Crime of Battery in the 1st Degree

As I write this, I'm preparing myself mentally for turning my husband in for the crime of battery.  That's right, he committed a battery crime.  He took the batteries out of the silent toy and THREW THEM IN THE GARBAGE.  I just about choked I couldn't believe what was happening.

I dug them out of the trash and I pointed to the bag in the utility closet RIGHT NEXT to the new batteries with the label  "USED BATTERIES TO BE RECYCLED" written on it.  His excuse was, "well that's where I have always thrown them."  Yeah, we'll let the jury decide your fate on that flimsy excuse.

The problem is that alkaline batteries contain toxic chemicals, including mercury.  They have a sturdy casing for rough and tumble usage, but they are no match for the crushers and heavy equipment used at landfills.  The result is the casings are damaged and mercury leaks into the environment.  Remember the last couple of years those families who have been evacuated from their homes because of mercury contamination?  It's a serious threat and batteries should be handled as a hazardous material.

If you live in the city of Boise, collect your batteries and then take them to one of the eight mobile drop off sites for hazardous materials.  Above is my current collection of batteries that needs to be dropped off with hazardous materials.  My last collection was truly a sight to behold and I managed to get my neighbor to take it on a trip out to HazMat with her stuff.

To circumvent a trip to the hazardous waste people, consider using rechargeable batteries, particularly those that can charge on a solar current.  Properly disposing of hazardous materials such as batteries, spent nuclear materials, really smelly diapers etc. makes a difference in our environment by cutting down on the number of toxic substances we dump into the landfill and henceforth ALLOW into our air and water.