How to recycle batteries

 Treehugger -  States have different policies regarding battery disposal. California, for example, considers discarded batteries as hazardous waste, making them illegal to throw into the trash... Other states have laws regarding the proper disposal of specific types of batteries, such as vehicle batteries. Check your state’s battery recycling laws here.  Just because you live in a state where it’s legal to toss your old batteries into the garbage, doesn’t mean you should. First of all, most batteries contain cobalt, nickel, manganese, and other heavy metals that can be potentially toxic, and keeping them out of landfills ensures that these metals don’t leech out and pollute drinking water or the natural environment. That’s pretty concerning, considering only 10% of the 5 billion batteries that are purchased in the United States each year are recycled. And, since the metals found inside batteries are considered valuable, recycling them minimizes the need to mine for raw materials.