Household batteries come in all shapes and sizes, says City of Lethbridge GM of Waste and Environment Mandi Parker.
In partnership with Call2Recycle Canada, the City is excited to announce the Curbside Battery Collection program.
From Nov. 18-28, you can bag your batteries and set them out for curbside pick-up the same day as your green cart.
“When you collect all your batteries at home and put them in the bags, we’ll have you put the bags on top of your green cart the last two weeks in November,” adds Parker.
This initiative marks a key milestone for safe battery disposal, as it will be the first of its kind in Alberta.
“Our Recycle Your Batteries, Canada! program is made by Canadians, for Canadians,” notes Joe Zenobio, president and CEO of Call2Recycle Canada. “We bring battery recycling where people are, at home, at work and in their neighbourhoods.”
Parker says batteries do not belong in the landfill. “This pilot program is a big step toward diverting them.”
Households can pick-up a recyclable battery collection bag at any of the City’s three yard waste sites or in the foyer of City Hall or use a store-bought resealable plastic bag.
Rechargeables, NiCad, NiMH, Lithium-Ion, car batteries, battery packs and industrial batteries are not accepted.
For full program details and accepted battery types visit online at recycleyourbatteries.ca or call 3-1-1.
According to Parker, the City doesn’t want old batteries in the green cart because it’s not organic material. “We don’t want them in the blue cart because they tend to cause fires, especially with the mixed paper and cardboard, and it can cause a fire at the MRF.”
“If you put it in the black cart, they can be recycled, and it just would go into the landfill. We don’t want batteries in the landfill. It adds to the chemical concentration of the leachate and causes problems within the landfill itself,” Parker explains.
