Tuesday, March 02, 2004
From the editors of E/Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: How do I recycle or safely dispose of used batteries?
— Tom Shamrell, Brattleboro, VT
Unfortunately, most of the more than 750 million alkaline batteries
sold each year to power our cameras, flashlights and Discmans are
landfilled and incinerated, not recycled. The chemicals in these
batteries — particularly cadmium — present a major health hazard
if they leak from their corroded metal jackets. Cadmium is a probable
human carcinogen, and it can also affect kidney and lung function.
Several states, including Maine, Vermont and Florida, have passed
legislation prohibiting incineration and landfilling of mercury-containing
and lead-acid batteries, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Office of Product Stewardship. Regardless of your home
state's attitude on batteries, you should contact your town's solid
waste office to see if there are any planned Hazardous Waste Collection
Days. Batteries awaiting recycling should be stored separately from
other hazardous materials in a cool and dry area.
Or take advantage of some of the increasingly popular national
battery recycling programs. Since 1989, 13 states have adopted laws
(including battery labeling requirements) to encourage the collection
and recycling of used rechargeable batteries. In 1996, Congress
passed the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management
Act, which helps facilitate the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation's
(RBRC) nationwide take back program. According to RBRC, some rechargeable
batteries can go through 1,000 cycles. RBRC recycles million of
batteries each year, collecting used batteries from more than 30,000
depositories in the U.S. and Canada, many at large retailers such
as Home Depot, Best Buy and Target. The RBRC collects only nickel-cadmium,
nickel-metal hydride, lithium ion and small sealed-lead batteries.
The Big Green Box battery-recycling program provides consumers,
companies and government agencies with a simple method for recycling
both batteries and portable electronic devices (cellphones, cameras,
calculators and laptops) without having to drive to a recycling
center. You prepay for a sturdy cardboard box (the consumer version
is $58) that will hold up to 40 pounds of recyclables. The cost
of the box includes all shipping, handling and recycling fees. You
keep the box handy, filling it with old batteries and equipment
as you go--and simply ship it to The Big Green Box address when
it's full.
Dear EarthTalk: How do sewer treatment plants threaten estuaries?
— Jean T. Castagno, Old Saybrook, CT
Estuaries are partially enclosed bodies of water where freshwater
and saltwater mix. They are key coastal habitats for many a species
of mammal, fish and bird--and are used as spawning grounds for much
of our nation's commercial fish and shellfish. The wetlands associated
with estuaries buffer uplands from flooding. Estuaries also provide
many recreational opportunities, such as swimming, boating and bird
watching. Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, Boston Harbor, Tampa
Bay and Puget Sound are all examples of U.S. estuaries, but one
that is particularly plagued by sewer plant drainage is the Northeast's
Long Island Sound.
Norwalk, Connecticut-based Save the Sound reports that 10 percent
of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of Long Island Sound.
That's a lot of people and a lot of sewage. According to the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), "Sewage treatment plants
discharge more than one billion gallons of treated effluent into
the Sound each day."
Sewage plants wreak havoc because their daily deposits contain
nitrogen, which over-fertilizes the water and causes explosive growth
in marine plants. These plants eventually die, sink and decompose.
The unnatural amount of decaying material depletes dissolved oxygen
levels, creating a condition called "hypoxia," which Save
the Sound says has diminished fish populations, reduced lobster
growth rates and negatively affected slow-moving species such as
starfish and bay anchovy in Long Island Sound.
Connecticut and New York have both committed millions to improve
the health of the Sound with habitat restoration and upgraded sewage
plants. There has already been a 19 percent reduction in nitrogen
discharges since 1990. A number of state and federal organizations
have also banded together to host National Estuaries Day, meant
to promote the importance of estuaries and the need to protect them.
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