Something that has bothered me for many years is that there are few, if any, battery recycling locations in Talbot Co. Yesterday I reached Stacey at Public Works who said that the landfill or Lowe’s may have battery drop offs. I called Lowe’s and the operator said that she “thought” they did recycle both car and household batteries. I have yet to check on this. But I would have thought that both of these women should have know with certainty.
I used to take my batteries to auto repair shops and they put them with car batteries for recycling. I couldn’t find one yesterday who would take them.
I don’t think that many people think about this, so instead, millions of batteries end up in the landfill with horrendous effects on our land, water and people.
There is an excellent article about the polluting effects of batteries in this link
Our landfill is relatively new compared to older ones which have been around for many, many decades. I don’t have the statistics on that. But batteries break down as you can see when yours are corroded. The process continues in our landfills and releases cadmium, lead, zinc, manganese, nickel, silver, mercury, and lithium, as well as acids. These chemicals are extremely toxic and will surface on land areas and in our water. This photo shows chemicals that have surfaced from a landfill.
As concerned residents, users of our streams and rivers, and consumers of local farm products, we should be alarmed that we don’t have battery recycling drop boxes throughout the county at convenient locations such as shopping areas where people go anyway. Not located in a remote location like the landfill. How many of us will drive that far out of town to get rid of a few batteries?
Please call or write Talbot Co. Public Works 410-822-2525 and the Talbot County Council to request that the county start a program of battery recycling. Write letters to the editor, tell you friends and family, this is serious stuff folks, in 20 years or less we will begin to see the effects of poisonous chemicals leeching onto our land and into our water. This IS poison, and should not be taken lightly. It can kill our fish and lead and other poisons can harm our children as well as adults. If we start now we can reduce this problem dramatically.
Drop off locations and the reasons why they are so important should be freely advertised in The Talbot Spy, The Star Dem and other area papers.
Catherine Alspach
Talbot County
Dan watson says
Thanks, Ms. Alspach, For raising this important conundrum that we all encounter occasionally, but is generally shrugged off. Something MD Environmental Services should be doing statewide, rather than funding corrupt severance packages.
D
Liz Fisher says
Thank you Catherine! I have a drawer full of batteries to recycle, and several smoke alarms (anoher problem). I’m sure many others in Talbot County do as well. Glad you are out there writing about this (lack of service). In the past I looked into recycling alkaline batteries locally, and the only thing I could find online was the advice to throw them away. This can’t be good. I look forward to following the link you supplied about the pollution aspect. Seems like it would fairly easy for Talbot County to set up.
Penelope Cripps Dwyer says
Thank you Catherine Alpach for this much-needed call to action. Throughout most of the western world and much of the U.S. battery recycling is not only mandated for corporations and home, but made easily available.
We’ve become a disposable society in that we turn our backs on what we throw into the garbage or flush down the toilets. Most chemicals and carbon products, meaning ALL plastics, do not breakdown at a molecular level, even when they are labeled “biodegradable.” What we throw away, becomes what our grandchildren+ will eat and drink.
Catherine Alspach says
Our County Counsel Members are: Chuck Callahan, Frank Divilio, Pete Lescher, Cory Pack and Laura Price. They can be reached at: 410-770-8001 or write them at: 11 N. Washington St., Easton, MD. 21601
Talbot Co. Public works can be reached at: 410-770-8170
In your comments please mention, as Penelope did above, that battery recycling is mandatory in the State for households and businesses.
Laura Zagon says
My feelings exactly. I’ve been collecting lithium batteries now afraid to put them in the trash and I certainly don’t want to add to that horrifying landfill poison. It is quite stunning that we don’t have ONE battery recycling station. This must be altered.