The importance of recycling batteries correctly

We all know that batteries contain highly polluting elements and that they are very difficult to break down.

Therefore, it is essential that they are recycled and disposed of correctly.

In today’s post we talk about the importance of recycling the pillars correctly and how to do it.

Batteries and their high polluting power

It is estimated that batteries take more than 1,000 years to biodegrade.

Hence the enormous importance of the gesture of recycling them correctly.

A battery contains highly polluting elements such as mercury, chromium, lead, zinc, arsenic or cadmium, which is why it is very harmful to the environment.

A single pile of mercury can contaminate up to 6,000 liters of water.

If we recycle it, we will help improve the quality of the planet’s water, reducing pollution and minimizing the emission of chemical elements.

If we do not recycle our batteries properly, they can decompose, damaging terrestrial ecosystems and be polluted for at least 500 years.

Ways to recycle batteries

There are different ways of recycling depending on the type of battery in question.

What you never have to do is throw them in the conventional trash, or throw them in the field, on the street or on the beach.

After depositing them where they correspond, they are transferred with special machinery to the corresponding treatment plants.

The first step is to classify the materials, as we indicated, each type of pile has a specific recycling process.

We can differentiate between:

• Alkaline batteries
• Button batteries
• Rechargeable batteries
• Lead batteries

Once the piles have been separated according to their category, most of them are shredded in order to separate their materials more easily.

During this recycling process, an attempt is made to recover different elements that make up the battery, such as magnesium, zinc and other metals.

In some cases, battery incineration is also used to recover cadmium, iron and nickel.

With these processes it is possible to take advantage of up to 75% of the components of a battery.

Components that are later used as raw material in other production processes.

The important thing is that from home we are aware of the high polluting power that something as small as a battery has.

We must do our part and deposit the used batteries in the containers installed for this purpose or take them directly to a clean point in our town.

From home we can collaborate to take care of the environment.