Battery-shaped collection bins have been set up in the lobbies of City Hall, 216 Ontario St., and the INVISTA Centre, 1350 Gardiner’s Rd., to make it more convenient for residents to properly dispose of used single-use and rechargeable batteries and small used electronic devices such as cell phones.
Spent batteries are considered household hazardous waste and cannot go in your weekly garbage.
The spent batteries are being collected – at no cost to the public or the City – by Raw Materials Company Inc., a company approved under Stewardship Ontario’s Municipal Hazardous Solid Waste program. This company recycles the batteries and reclaims their toxic heavy metals, like cadmium, mercury and lead, to keep them out of landfill. The battery collection program also saves energy by reducing the need to mine and process these metals.
The office at the Kingston Area Recycling Centre, 196 Lappan’s Lane, also accepts these items when the Household Hazardous Waste facility is closed for the season (December through March).
For more on how to properly dispose of or recycle various kinds of batteries, see www.cityofkingston.ca/batteries.
—————————————————————————–
Release source: City of Kingston | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
