Battery Recycling

Battery Recycling - Rechargeable Batteries Only

The Village Hall at 200 North River Street and the Police Department at 10 Civic Center Avenue serve as drop-off locations for used rechargeable batteries, buttons, cameras, cell phones, and other household batteries, including wheelchair batteries. Vehicle batteries and alkaline batteries will not be accepted. These used batteries are delivered periodically to an appropriate hazardous waste recycling site.

This program will allow the safe recycling of batteries to help keep potentially hazardous materials out of local landfills. Batteries may be dropped off at the Village Hall and the Police Department during normal business hours, Monday to Friday from 8:00A to 4:30P., except on holidays.

Why Don't We Recycle Alkaline Batteries?

In this age of recycling, sometimes we need to adjust how we do things. One example is alkaline batteries, which have not contained mercury for at least 20 years. The newest recycling guidelines say you can safely throw alkaline batteries away with your weekly trash since they contain no hazardous materials. Although they may contain a small amount of metal, such as nickel or zinc, they contain no hazardous materials, and there is no cost-effective way to recycle them. Hence, the Village of Montgomery is no longer accepting them for recycling.

All other types of batteries, such as rechargeable, button, and lead acid batteries, should be recycled, and the Village of Montgomery will continue to accept those. A word of caution--You should throw out alkaline batteries when they are no longer working and not stockpile them to dispose of them all at once. In higher concentrations, they could cause problems at the landfill. Having a couple of batteries in your trash is better than a large container.

Is There an Alternative?

If you don't like the idea of throwing away alkaline batteries, it is best to avoid purchasing them and stop generating the waste. Instead, buy rechargeable batteries and commit to using them. They are more expensive than one-use batteries but pay for themselves over time as they can last many years.