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Published on April 3rd, 2009

AAA Sponsors Great Battery Roundup

by Trey Granger

For the ninth straight year, AAA is sponsoring the Great Battery Roundup, a car battery collection program in accordance with Earth Day 2009 to help keep lead and sulfuric acid out of landfills and garages.

Not to be confused with the Great American Cleanup, which also occurs during this time of year, the Great Battery Roundup has collected and recycled more than 1 million lead-acid batteries from automobiles and boats.

Just one of these batteries contains 21 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and one gallon of sulfuric acid, all of which can be reprocessed into new batteries. Photo: Tripletowing.com

Just one of these batteries contains 21 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and one gallon of sulfuric acid, all of which can be reprocessed into new batteries. Photo: Tripletowing.com

Just one of these batteries contains 21 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and one gallon of sulfuric acid, all of which can be reprocessed into new batteries.

The Great Battery Roundup provides drop-off locations for consumers to bring in their obsolete lead-acid batteries. These collection points also offer free battery checks, and AAA donates a portion of the recycling proceeds to environmental groups.

Car batteries are already recycled an estimated 95 percent of the time in the U.S., but this still leaves 5 million batteries unaccounted for.

So far, 43 states have passed some sort of lead-acid battery recycling law, which is more than laws for electronics recycling and beverage container deposits combined.

The timing of the campaign will depend on your location. In Oregon, drop-off locations are available during the entire month of April. AAA encourages participants to contact their local club for more information.

Trey Granger

Trey Granger

Trey Granger is a staff member at Earth911.com.

More articles by Trey


3 Comments

  1. Jennifer Berry

    Jennifer Berry

    posted on April 3rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    If you bring your car in for a new battery, do the shops automatically recycle them, or is that a consumer’s responsibility?

  2. Hector

    posted on April 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    Also, the web site FileStoreShred.com maintains a list of free paper shredding and electronics recycling events from coast to coast across the country. Similar to what is mentioned above, these events are faster and easier than trying to dispose of these materials at home.

  3. Get Cash for Recycling Your Power Tool Batteries | Green

    posted on April 19th, 2009 at 12:32 am

    [...] Earth Day 2009 nears, many organizations are hosting battery collections, such as AAA’s Great Battery Roundup. In Oregon, drop-off locations are available during the entire month of April, and you can also [...]

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