Do used batteries be thrown away with ordinary rubbish?

Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Sun from the student affairs office of the east Xinyuan campus of Hangzhou Shenglan Experimental Primary School took out a stainless steel jar and a paper box, which were filled with all kinds of used batteries.

"Don't look at these two batteries, they weigh 40 to 50 jin!" Sun struggled to carry the batteries, shaking his head and saying that the students had brought them from home since the school began on September 1. There used to be a battery recycling company that would come to school regularly to collect batteries, but before the beginning of this year, the company stopped recycling because of business problems.

"But the students keep sending batteries to school every week!" Sun said, the battery more and more pile, worried that the school environment will be polluted, had to send a circle of friends for help.

Most of the batteries are no. 5 and no. 1 ordinary household dry batteries, with the date, model and capacity printed on the shell. Most of the batteries are labeled "mercury-free" in Chinese, while a few are labeled "low-mercury". "Mercury-free" or "low-mercury" dry cells account for more than 95%. There are also a small number of mobile phone lithium battery, button battery, connected to the charging line of the rechargeable battery, most of the ban on the bin sign.

Most people still think that a used battery cannot be thrown away

Before school was over in the afternoon, we did a survey in grade two and grade four, two classes that collected the most used batteries. Among the more than 40 students in grade two, 13 of them brought used batteries from home. Ask the students, waste batteries should be how to deal with? Everyone is full of gossip, but all mentioned one point: waste batteries must not be thrown away, to be centralized processing.

"Not only the students, but also the teachers think the batteries can't be thrown away! Sun said the concept had been promoted many years ago and was deeply rooted in the hearts of almost every child and adult.

Coming out of school, we also did a random survey in Dongxinyuan community and the nearby rural residential spots. Most of the citizens said that batteries should never be thrown away, but should be thrown into the dustbin specially for collecting used batteries.

"I saw the battery box years ago, but now it's gone!" The security guard of Dongxinyuan community said that in the past two years, some residents have asked them where they should throw the waste batteries, and they all asked the residents to throw them into the red bucket (hazardous waste) of the sorting bin, which was trained by the company.

The commission was surprised: why is the collection still going on?

Yesterday, Hangzhou municipal commission of urban sanitation facilities supervision center staff, heard that there are primary schools are still collecting used batteries after the event, very surprised: "ordinary dry batteries can be thrown into other garbage cans with other household waste, why are still collecting? "Unless it's some rechargeable battery, it's not going to go into a toxic waste bin."

City sanitation center staff said, starting in 2010, Hangzhou urban living community of garbage classification, each district were required to be equipped with four color bin (red barrels of toxic waste, blue barrels on the recyclable garbage, green on the eat hutch garbage barrels, yellow bucket on the other waste), every kind of waste is a direct shipment team responsible for pickup by the municipal environmental group.

Considering that some citizens can't tell which batteries are harmful and which are not, the current treatment method is generally to allow citizens to throw the batteries into the red trash can, which is toxic and harmful garbage can.

Due to the amount of red barrels of garbage is not much, the city environment group direct transport team used to take irregular doorways, this April began, Hangzhou every month on the 10th as toxic and harmful waste clearance day, this day, the city environment group branch clean direct transport team will drive into the community to collect toxic and harmful waste.

Environmental group downtown city branch manager pan heard blue primary school yesterday's troubles, immediately said: office, school and other units of garbage sorting work are starting to push, is less than 100%, so the school may not really understand the situation of garbage classification, actually blue experimental primary school can equipped with red bin, full of busy contact direct shipment team pickup line.

"The battery quantity is very big, can't solve of words, give us a telephone call, these two days send car to carry." Pan said that authorities and units in downtown areas can contact them if they need to clear and transport hazardous waste. The telephone number of the team is 85151943.

A common used battery can be disposed of with the waste

Yesterday, the answer of the environmental protection department staff is that most of the batteries do not need centralized recycling, as ordinary waste treatment.

There are many kinds of batteries on the market

Before said the battery is toxic, why now say no?

A battery is a device that generates chemical reactions between positive and negative materials under the action of electrolytes and converts chemical energy into electrical energy. The most common is the radio, remote control using alkaline batteries; Nickel-cadmium batteries for digital devices such as laptop computers (now the main use of non-cadmium nickel-metal hydride batteries); Lithium-ion batteries, which are heavily used in mobile phones; Battery cars, cars used on the lead-acid battery, electronic equipment on the button battery these types.

Usually said toxic and harmful waste batteries, mainly refers to the battery contains cadmium mercury lead three heavy metals. All three heavy metals are highly toxic and persist in the environment for a long time. They can enter the human body through the food chain and cause chronic poisoning.

However, cadmium and lead only exist in nickel-cadmium and lead-acid batteries. Mercury was the toxic and harmful substance in ordinary dry batteries in the past.

At the end of 1997, nine ministries, commissions and bureaus of the state council jointly issued the regulations on limiting the mercury content of battery products, which explicitly required limiting the mercury content of battery products. (the standard for low mercury is 0.025% of the battery's weight, and for no mercury is 0.0001% of the battery's weight.)

From January 1, 2002, it is prohibited to sell batteries above the low-mercury standard in the domestic market.

From January 1, 2006, the sale of alkaline zinc-manganese batteries above the mercury-free standard is prohibited.

In fact, in 2003, the state environmental protection administration issued the "waste battery pollution prevention and control technology policy" pointed out: at present, in the absence of effective recycling of technical and economic conditions, do not encourage the centralized collection of waste batteries have reached the national low mercury or no mercury requirements. (the express reported in detail on October 16, 2013)

That is to say, 12 years ago, ordinary dry batteries can be thrown away with household garbage.

The three types of batteries are toxic and cannot be dropped casually

The environmental protection department of the staff said, not all batteries can move easily, at ordinary times, we will still come into contact with some of the toxic and harmful waste batteries, like button batteries, lead-acid batteries, electric cars, electric vehicle battery), lithium ion battery (such as mobile phone panels on laptops and most rechargeable batteries) of these three kinds of waste battery, is recycled by qualified unit.

Do used batteries have recycling value?

Yesterday, we found a few online recycling of old batteries manufacturers, called the past, a listen to the recycling of ordinary dry batteries, they said, do not accept.

"Common 5 no. 1 battery we already don't accept, have no profit at all, still want to stick money, this business can't do!" "Said one of the manufacturers.

A lot of button batteries, rechargeable batteries, cell phone lithium batteries, are recycled.

In touch with the only a recycling waste battery of mobile phone company in the province, said mr.Chen in charge of environmental protection work, although they have been recycling waste batteries, cell phone also in some community streets, with a small gift in the waste batteries, but few to the mobile phone batteries, ordinary people did not take the habit of recycling old phones unity.

Yesterday, a fourth-grade student from Shenglan primary school told me that he found several old batteries in his home, but his mother wouldn't let him take them.

"Indeed, many people will sell their old mobile phones or leave them at home with batteries attached. If the environment is too humid or the temperature is too high, the cell phone battery toxicity may drain away."

This, up posture, tell the old man and the child who still collect the old battery in the home quickly ~

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.