Why Do I Need To Recycle Batteries and Electronic Media?
Recycling and Disposing of Batteries
In Minnesota, it is illegal to throw certain types of batteries in the trash. Some contain mercury, lead, and cadmium, which are toxic to humans and harmful to the environment if disposed of improperly. Even small batteries can pack a toxic punch. For example, if batteries end up at an incinerator, they can release harmful chemicals during combustion.
Recharge And Recycle
The first and simplest thing you can do to keep batteries from harming the environment is to buy rechargeable batteries. Americans purchase almost three billion dry-cell batteries per year. That's a lot of toxic metal getting thrown away. Rechargeable batteries can be recharged 500 to 1,000 times. This not only reduces waste, it saves you money in the long run. Just be sure to recycle the batteries when they're done. When rechargeable batteries, or any other kind, lose their power, you can dispose of them at a recycling location in Hennepin County included in the link below.
Recycling and Disposal Instructions
A depleted battery may still contain a residual charge. Place each battery into an individual plastic bag or place non-conductive tape over the battery terminals to prevent short-circuiting during storage and transport.
Click here for more information from Hennepin County regarding battery recycling
On October 28, 2019, Hennepin county discontinued collecting batteries at city and county buildings, libraries, schools, and community centers. Please click on the link above for information on how to recycle used batteries and drop off locations.
Recycle Electronic Media
Hennepin County now accepts electronic media at its drop-off facilities at 8100 Jefferson Hwy in Brooklyn Park and at 1400 West 96th Street in Bloomington.
Before recycling media, please remove and recycle any cardboard boxes. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the United States, approximately 100,000 pounds of CDs become obsolete each month and more than 5.5 million boxes of software are discarded each year. Hennepin County is the first local option to accept such a wide variety of electronic media for recycling. In the first month of the program, 700 pounds of media was collected.
Media materials accepted include:
- Computer disks
- DVDs, CDs, and Bluray discs
- Flash drives and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards
- Game cartridges
- Ink jet and laser toner cartridges
- Plastic cases and jewel cases
- Video and audio cassettes, and tapes and vinyl records