Jan 22 - San Carlos to Include Batteries in Curbside Recycling

San Carlos residents will soon be able to leave their old cell phones and batteries at the curb to be picked up for recycling. Under a new pilot program to be kicked off March 1, the South Bayside Waste Management Authority will test the feasibility of expanding its curbside program to include more of the toxic substances now banned from California's landfills. According to the Integrated Waste Management Board, less than 1% of the 507 million batteries sold in California are recycled.

Rebekah Gordon from Inside Bay Area quoted Kevin McCarthy, Director of the community’s recycling outfit, as saying that the area's current drop-off recycling scheme for spent batteries is inadequate:

It's a greatly underserved recycling need in the county. Consumer electronics are proliferating and we’re using a lot more batteries, but there aren’t a lot of opportunities to recycle.

Click here to read the complete article.

San Carlos residents will be asked to put spent batteries in a clear plastic bag on top of their recycling bin, and if the pilot is successful the program might be expanded. If permanent, San Carlos would join the small--but growing--group of cities that have realized the expansion of curbside programs is the most effective way of reaching waste reduction targets.

What You Can Do:

  • Learn more about CAW’s efforts to help solve the growing battery and e-waste disposal crisis.
  • Find out where the nearest place to recycling your batteries.
Lanh Nguyen