Comments on: 8 Ways to Green Your Battery Use http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/ Make Everyday Earth Day Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:02:55 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: lpederson http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-33516 lpederson Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:39:09 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-33516 I work at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Northern Wisconsin. These tips are great. Could I use this article as part of our Center's education and put it in the Green Team Newsletter? I work at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Northern Wisconsin. These tips are great. Could I use this article as part of our Center’s education and put it in the Green Team Newsletter?

]]> By: Tom http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-33209 Tom Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:51:31 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-33209 Take your old batteries to your nearest Batteries Plus store. They will accept them, and they will be properly recycled! To find a location nearest you, visit http://www.batteriesplus.com Take your old batteries to your nearest Batteries Plus store. They will accept them, and they will be properly
recycled!
To find a location nearest you, visit http://www.batteriesplus.com

]]> By: Rosemarie http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-31598 Rosemarie Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:59:07 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-31598 So Josh- what are we to do with the batteries? I've heard the same thing can happen with cell phones etc and to be very wary about which company you use to recycle those. Sounds like the mail in sites are a rip off. Do we trash these and tapes the ends? What do we do? So Josh- what are we to do with the batteries? I’ve heard the same thing can happen with cell phones etc and to be very wary about which company you use to recycle those. Sounds like the mail in sites are a rip off. Do we trash these and tapes the ends? What do we do?

]]> By: Josh http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-29927 Josh Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:32:59 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-29927 About a year ago I had to do some research on battery recycling. One of the conditions of the job was specifically alkaline (single-use) batteries. Now, what I discovered is that you can send alkaline batteries wherever you want... there are take-back programs all over... however, NONE of those single-use, alkaline batteries actually get recycled! They get shipped to foreign countries with poor or no regulation to be incinerated, resulting in 100% pollution from these things. (Google "toxic waste trade") AT BEST they are segregated and held with other household hazardous waste in some shed on a landfill site. How often do we find that our 'little bit' that we do to help is really a bait-and-switch... NOTHING is being done, just the public is FOOLED into thinking something is being done. The person who contracted me to do this research actually thought I was lying to them! "Radio Shack takes my alkaline batteries every time I go in there!" But if you ask the person who actually HANDLES that battery bin, the single-use alkalines are pulled out and tossed right in the trash, or sold for pennies a pound to a toxic waster trader to be burned in some Vietnamese village cookfire (contaminating the entire place). So wouldn't it be better to entice folks to boycott alkalines altogether? It is this kind of misdirection that makes it possible for folks like Fuji to market the 'enviromax,' the famous 'green' battery that is only green because the wrapper is made from recycled cardboard. About a year ago I had to do some research on battery recycling. One of the conditions of the job was specifically alkaline (single-use) batteries. Now, what I discovered is that you can send alkaline batteries wherever you want… there are take-back programs all over… however, NONE of those single-use, alkaline batteries actually get recycled! They get shipped to foreign countries with poor or no regulation to be incinerated, resulting in 100% pollution from these things. (Google “toxic waste trade”) AT BEST they are segregated and held with other household hazardous waste in some shed on a landfill site. How often do we find that our ‘little bit’ that we do to help is really a bait-and-switch… NOTHING is being done, just the public is FOOLED into thinking something is being done. The person who contracted me to do this research actually thought I was lying to them! “Radio Shack takes my alkaline batteries every time I go in there!” But if you ask the person who actually HANDLES that battery bin, the single-use alkalines are pulled out and tossed right in the trash, or sold for pennies a pound to a toxic waster trader to be burned in some Vietnamese village cookfire (contaminating the entire place). So wouldn’t it be better to entice folks to boycott alkalines altogether? It is this kind of misdirection that makes it possible for folks like Fuji to market the ‘enviromax,’ the famous ‘green’ battery that is only green because the wrapper is made from recycled cardboard.

]]> By: samhain http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-29026 samhain Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:36:22 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-29026 No one seems to be listening to perian mcbee even though this person might have a very good idea? Why is it always left TO THE CONSUMER to stay green when we should be pressuring the government/major companies to do more to make things green. Think about it if the government and most major companies woudl eliminate pollutants from items US consumers would be able to have a much larger impact when we do our share. Makes sense? It's called "thinking outside the box" of what they tell us to do. No one seems to be listening to perian mcbee even though this person might have a very good idea? Why is it always left TO THE CONSUMER to stay green when we should be pressuring the government/major companies to do more to make things green. Think about it if the government and most major companies woudl eliminate pollutants from items US consumers would be able to have a much larger impact when we do our share. Makes sense?

It’s called “thinking outside the box” of what they tell us to do.

]]> By: Bill M. http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-28475 Bill M. Fri, 22 May 2009 16:08:38 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-28475 When your alkaline batteries seem to be exhausted remove them from the device they will no longer run and put them in your wall clock. Often your wall clock will run for as much as an extra year. I never need to buy wall clock batteries. When your alkaline batteries seem to be exhausted remove them from the device they will no longer run and put them in your wall clock. Often your wall clock will run for as much as an extra year. I never need to buy wall clock batteries.

]]> By: batteries http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-27311 batteries Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:06:33 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-27311 Definitely good advice. Thank you! Definitely good advice. Thank you!

]]> By: Adam Ballai http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-25857 Adam Ballai Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:46:54 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-25857 Rgiul, definitely good advice. Especially with those 3g iPhone's, the data service being on all the time drains power even when you're not using it. I shut my phone off at night before bed so I don't drain the battery excessively and can save the power for the next day. Rgiul, definitely good advice. Especially with those 3g iPhone’s, the data service being on all the time drains power even when you’re not using it. I shut my phone off at night before bed so I don’t drain the battery excessively and can save the power for the next day.

]]> By: rgiul http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-24989 rgiul Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:59:27 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-24989 A note about cell phone use. Shut off your bluetooth when you don't need it. Leaving your bluetooth on uses a lot of power. You may be able to double your battery life with it off. If you find it a pain in the neck to have to turn on bluetooth prior to using your headset and then shutting it off, consider using a scheduler. Depending on the cell phone there are applications that you can install that will manage your bluetooth for you. You could have the bluetooth turn on at 6am for your morning commute, turn off at 10 am while you are at work, turn on again at 5pm to 7pm for your drive home. This way it is only running for a couple of hours a day instead of 24/7 A note about cell phone use. Shut off your bluetooth when you don’t need it. Leaving your bluetooth on uses a lot of power. You may be able to double your battery life with it off. If you find it a pain in the neck to have to turn on bluetooth prior to using your headset and then shutting it off, consider using a scheduler. Depending on the cell phone there are applications that you can install that will manage your bluetooth for you. You could have the bluetooth turn on at 6am for your morning commute, turn off at 10 am while you are at work, turn on again at 5pm to 7pm for your drive home. This way it is only running for a couple of hours a day instead of 24/7

]]> By: jessica mendoza http://earth911.com/blog/2008/10/06/8-ways-to-green-your-battery-use/comment-page-1/#comment-24388 jessica mendoza Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:24:12 +0000 http://earth911.com/?p=5060#comment-24388 AND ALL THESE YEARS I NEVER KNEW YOU COULD RECYLCE BATTERIES! AND ALL THESE YEARS I NEVER KNEW YOU COULD RECYLCE BATTERIES!

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