My family uses a ton of batteries, but I’ve been switching them for rechargeable batteries instead. What do I do with the old single use alkaline batteries? i have 9v AA AAA D C plus the tiny watch baterries.

I know there are recycling plants or stores, but I was thinking if I could use them for something else. Are batteries harmful to me or the environment when not in use, but just sitting there?

Thanks. A link would be helpful.

Take rechargeable batteries to any of the participating retailers. In the U.S.: Alltel, Batteries Plus, BD Batteries, Best Buy, Black & Decker, Cingular Wireless, The Home Depot, Milwaukee Electric Tool, Orchard Supply, Porter Cable Service Center, RadioShack, Remington Product Company, Sears, Staples, Target, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless, and Wal-Mart.

And in Canada: Battery Plus, Bell Mobility, Canadian Tire, FIDO/Microcell, Future Shop, The Home Depot, Home Hardware, London Drugs, Makita Factory Service Centers, Personal Edge/Centre du Rasoir, RadioShack Canada, Revy, Sasktel, Sears, The Sony Store, Telus Mobility and Zellers.

Unfortunately, there is no cost effective method for recycling Primary (non rechargeable) batteries like AA, AAA, C, D, or 9V at this time. Some schools do it, but you should concentrate on switching to rechargable NiMH or NiCd as you already are.

WHY?
All Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when improperly disposed of.

When incinerated, heavy metals can be released into the air (mercury) or can concentrate in the ash (lead and cadmium) produced by the combustion process.

When allowed to corrode, these metals can seep into the ground water or stream systems. Dry cell batteries contribute about 88 percent of the total mercury and 50 percent of the cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream. In the past, batteries accounted for nearly half of the mercury used in the United States and over half of the mercury and cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream.