Body
Overview
Batteries
Facilities Management recycles campus batteries according to the following guidelines. If your department has a battery to recycle, please contact Sandy Schippers and bring the batteries to the Facilities Management Central Stores at 95 Collegiate Center Drive. Do not place batteries for recycling in campus recycle containers.
- Alkaline batteries are not rechargeable and do not contain any regulated hazardous materials. From a life cycle and energy management standpoint, recycling an alkaline battery is more environmentally detrimental than disposing of it directly in the trash, i.e., land filling.
- Button batteries are found in watches, calculators, hearing aids, etc. Button batteries often contain mercury, silver, or lithium, and should be recycled.
- Lead-acid batteries includes most car and motorcycle batteries. Lead-acid batteries contain an average of 17.5 pounds of lead and 1.5 gallons of sulfuric acid. Improperly disposed lead-acid batteries can corrode and release lead and sulfuric acid. Iowa State law prohibits landfilling lead-acid batteries. Retailers are required to accept a used battery when a new one is purchased. Some retailers are willing to accept lead-acid batteries even when one is not purchased. Lead-acid batteries should be recycled.
- Nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries are the most common type of rechargeable battery and they can be found in cellular phones, equipment, and toys. Ni-cad batteries contain regulated amounts of cadmium and should be recycled or handled as hazardous waste. Recycling is the best option from both an economical and environmental standpoint