Battery Tossing Blues? Go Rechargeable
From toys and television remotes, to GPS devices and LED headlamps, we live in a universe with a near constant hunger for batteries. In fact, to feed all of our portable gadget needs, Americans purchase 3 billion batteries annually. While today’s disposable batteries are far more landfill friendly than those of years past, the 125,000 tons of them that we toss out every year represent lost opportunities to conserve natural resources and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The good news is that there is an easy way for Green consumers to pitch in, and the solution is one which has been around for years but has gone underutilized: rechargeable batteries.
We’re used to calling upon rechargeable batteries when it comes to powering our cell phones and laptops, yet often fall back on disposable alkaline batteries for most other needs. Why? Disposable batteries are cheap and the rechargeable alternatives are expensive. However, just as is the case with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) relative to incandescent bulbs, comparing the costs of disposable and rechargeable batteries strictly by purchase price conceals a huge financial and environmental windfall. A four pack of rechargeable NiMH batteries with charger might cost $15, whereas a package of name brand alkalines will set you back $2-3. That’s a big disparity until you factor in the longevity rechargeable batteries offer. With the possibility of reusing them up to 500 times, the per-use cost of a single rechargeable AA battery drops to mere pennies while the expense of the 500 disposables that would be required to do the same job (at $0.50 a pop) balloons to $250. Even buying in bulk, disposables can’t come anywhere close to turning this equation around. When it comes to batteries, the old adage that sometimes you need to spend money to make money has never rung more true as a $15 dollar investment could net almost $1000 dollars in savings! Wow.
What’s the big environmental benefit in all this? Energy. It might seem that rechargeable batteries’ cyclical need to be topped off with electricity would result in a higher carbon footprint than that created by disposable batteries needing no access to the grid. However, the process of extracting the necessary natural resources, refining the metal alloys, manufacturing, and then transporting batteries to consumers demands vast quantities of energy far exceeding the electrical charge they contain. According to a study by Uniross, the production of a rechargeable Nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH) battery has 23 times less potential impact on non-renewable natural resources than its alkaline equivalent, 28 times less potential impact on global warming, generates 1/30th the amount of air pollution, and a fraction of the amount of water contamination created by the manufacture and use of a disposable alkaline cell. The elegance of the rechargeable battery lies in its ability to spread its environmental burden over hundreds of uses instead of just one. So, the next time you’re in the battery isle about to buy yet another pack of disposable batteries, maybe reconsider the alternatives.
We do have a few suggestions to keep in mind:
- Avoid NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) based cells. These batteries contain high levels of cadmium, a toxic metal and environmental pollutant. NiCad cells are, fortunately, becoming obsolete, replaced by NiMH batteries that are much more benign. If you have any old NiCad batteries around, take them to a recycling facility rather than throwing them into the trash (this applies to all batteries that have reached the end of their lifespan, but especially for NiCads because of their toxicity).
- Many manufacturers are now offering special rechargeable alkaline batteries. While we haven’t tried them ourselves, they’ve gotten lackluster reviews as their performance and capacity degrades comparatively quickly.
- Rechargeable batteries are not perfect for every job. Because NiMH cells do not hold their charge well over extended periods, they aren’t well suited for applications that require long battery life and low power consumption (such as fire detectors or television remotes). If it only needs a battery or two a year, you might be best sticking with disposables, but for the battery burners in your households, make the leap to rechargeables.
Marc Swanson
Category: Green Business, Green Cars, Green Facts, Green Homes, Green Products
About the Author (Author Profile)
Scott is the founder of Going Green Today.Subscribe
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