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January 26, 2006
Toss that battery in the trash and you'll be breaking the law
For every Californian who throws household batteries into the family trash, here's some bad news: You'll soon be breaking state law. Beginning Feb. 9, consumers won't be able to dispose of household batteries in the comfort of their own homes. You'll need to take them somewhere — to a household hazardous waste facility, a universal waste handler or an authorized recycling center.
Number, location and convenience of such sites vary from county to county.
Communities have had four years to prepare for the transition.
State regulators say there won't be much residential enforcement, though they have the ability to fine violators.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control has no plans to go door to door, scavenging through garbage bins for batteries, spokesman Ron Baker said.
Most Californians are likely to abide by the ban voluntarily, he said.
"If you ask them to do something, provide them with a way to do it and tell them where to go to do it, they do it," Baker said. "They care."
The ban targets virtually every kind of household battery, used to operate devices ranging from toys to radios to hearing aids — AA, AAA, C cells, D cells and button batteries.
Fluorescent light bulbs and mercury thermostats also are covered by the disposal ban, along with various electronic devices, including printers, videocassette recorders, telephones, radios and microwave ovens.
California identified such products as household hazardous wastes several years ago, but households and small businesses were excluded from the crackdown until Feb. 9.
The goal is to increase recycling and to reduce the quantity of potentially hazardous materials entering local landfills.
Batteries, depending on the type, contain alkaline, carbon zinc, lithium and mercuric-oxide. They can corrode and leak chemicals into groundwater.
Californians use more than 500 million batteries a year and safely dispose of less than 1 percent of them, according to a 2001 report by the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, said most communities do not yet have an extensive, convenient collection system for household hazardous waste.
But Murray applauds the pending disposal restrictions nonetheless.
"It's a good thing for California, because if it wasn't for the disposal ban, we wouldn't be talking about this issue," he said.
Murray is pushing for legislation to provide more revenue and incentive for recycling — charging a redemption fee on batteries, for example, much like the state does now on cans and bottles.
By Jim Sanders
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3435482
Posted by 4HL on January 26, 2006 3:17 PM
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