Poll Question: Is sending batteries to a "landfill for disposal" recycling?

[legion88]

Early in January, the recycling coordinator of an organization mass e-mailed his fellow employees to provide information on the recycling of batteries, especially batteries that were to be thrown away after official use.

The recycling coordinator set up a system where dead batteries are to be put in boxes that are strategically placed throughout the building. These batteries are, of course, collected by the coordinator.

He informed his fellow employees that he personally transports the batteries to his "local landfill for disposal".

Is the recycling coordinator actually recycling? Yes or No.

[legion88]

Here's a copy of the mass e-mail. I "X"ed out the names and such as they are not relevant.

Household-type batteries basically means no car batteries and similar items. Typically, household-type batteries are batteries used in flashlights and other gadgets. Here's the e-mail:


I just wanted to give everyone information on the recycling of household-type batteries, greeting cards, and CDs at XXXXX. Similar to our XXXXX office, bins for these materials are located near Recycling Team Members. If you do not see bins for a specific material just ask the team member near you. A couple of points to remember:

— Please, Please, use the battery bins ONLY FOR BATTERIES GENERATED AT XXXXX!!! I personally take all of the household-type batteries to my local landfill for disposal and I can not be responsible for taking household-type batteries generated from personal use. Personal household-type battery disposal locations can be found by contacting the County (or XXXXX City) where you live or, for Ni-Cad batteries, by calling XXXXXX. County (or XXXXX City) contact numbers are available under "Recycling at Home" on our web page.

— All greeting cards (not just one from this holiday season) are collected separately. All you have to do is tear the card in 2 and place the front cover in the card bin (the back gets put in your paper recycling bin). If the back of the front cover has writing or if you can't find a greeting card bin, the cards should be placed in your paper bin at your cubicle.

— CDs must be unbroken. Broken CDs should be disposed of as trash.

The location of the bins are as follows. If a location is not given, contact the member closest to you:



He went on to list the names of the people in this recycling team.

[thcdru2k]

Perhaps if the landfill had a specific section for batteries?

[legion88]

Originally posted by thcdru2k
Perhaps if the landfill had a specific section for batteries?

Nope. "Landfill for disposal" means the batteries are being buried. Modern batteries (with the exception of rechargable batteries like NiCad's) are not considered a "hazardous waste" so landfills have no problem in burying the batteries like any other trash. It isn't against the law to do so.

There is also hardly any market to recycle dead batteries anyway (e.g. no profit). So even if the landfill did have a specific section to collect batteries, where in the world are they going to ship it to for recycling and how much will it cost to do so?

Edit: When I say modern batteries, I am referring to batteries made in mid to late 90s and later. Older batteries had a high concentration of mercury which makes the batteries hazardous. Today, the mercury in the batteries are much, much lower. As for NiCad, the cadmium in those rechargable batteries makes them hazardous.

[thcdru2k]

in that case, no it isn't recycling. perhaps you should give that recycling coordinator this link http://www.batteryrecycling.com/

tell him he can mail the batteries to them.

[legion88]

Originally posted by thcdru2k
in that case, no it isn't recycling. perhaps you should give that recycling coordinator this link http://www.batteryrecycling.com/

tell him he can mail the batteries to them.

The "recycling" coordinator isn't really looking to do a whole lot of work, especially anything that would cost money. He's been doing it for six years now (or so he claims).

He works for a state government, by the way. The organization is a state agency created to protect the environment, of all things.

I asked him both in e-mail and in person point-blank, what is the difference between what he is doing (i.e. collecting and sending them off to a landfill) and just dropping the batteries into the wastebasket?

His answer: throwing the batteries into the wastebasket would not be "proper" disposal.

So, I asked him, where does the contents of the wastebasket go?

His reply: it goes to a "dump".

Dumps are actually illegal landfills. So I assumed he meant "dumpsters"--those large metallic boxes used to collect trash. The contents of those dumpsters are shipped to a landfill, no different from what he's doing with the batteries.

This is an example of your state taxes being used "wisely".

[FastM]

So when are we gonna start sending our Garbage into space? i mean i know it must be really expensive... but at one point do we really have much of a choice?

Because of the expense we obviously couldn't send much in todays day and age, but things like Nuclear Waste or Batteries shouldn't be burried or dumped into the ocean.

[SurfMonkey]

Originally posted by FastM
So when are we gonna start sending our Garbage into space? i mean i know it must be really expensive... but at one point do we really have much of a choice?


Did you ever see that episode of Futurama where all the junk we'd sent into space came and threatened to wipe out humanity? It could happen for real... :D

[FastM]

Yah, well send it towards the sun then ;)

I Promise it wont come back after that, then again we might get some un-natural solar flairs.....

[legion88]

Originally posted by FastM
So when are we gonna start sending our Garbage into space? i mean i know it must be really expensive... but at one point do we really have much of a choice?

Because of the expense we obviously couldn't send much in todays day and age, but things like Nuclear Waste or Batteries shouldn't be burried or dumped into the ocean.

Back in the late 80s, the media created an impression that the U.S. is running out of space to put the trash. The conclusion is based on the known fact that existing landfills do not have an infinite capacity. This resulted in the "recycling craze" as well as the construction of the less environmentally friendly incinerators (and "waste-to-energy" facilities).

However, the conclusion ignores another fact: humans can build more landfills. And more landfills were built--megalandfills to replace the more numerous smaller landfills that were filling up at the time. Moreover, the requirements for landfills became stricter so landfills themselves are more "environmentally friendly" than before.

It will be a very long time before there would be any need to ship junk into space. And the amount of fuel consumed (not to mention resulting air pollution) makes shipping waste into space a less environmentally friendly solution.

[FastM]

Cool, iv'e actually heard that rockets going into space really do a number on the Atmosphere. So i guess restricting the amount of rockets leaving earth is also a good idea.

[legion88]

Originally posted by FastM
Cool, iv'e actually heard that rockets going into space really do a number on the Atmosphere. So i guess restricting the amount of rockets leaving earth is also a good idea.

True, but remember there aren't that many rockets going out into space.

Imagine how many rockets would be needed to dispose 9 million tons of trash--the amount of trash that Virginia landfilled in 2000. That 9 million doesn't even include the nearly 2.5 million that was burned to ashes. This is just for one state.

Or the hazards (particularly terrorism hazards) in disposing nuclear waste by shooting them off by rocket.

[styles-T]

1 Rocket into space does more damage than all of the aerosol cans ever created..Its pretty pathetic..So I was told by someone who works for the gov. and NASA..not sure if this is true though..

Back on topic..
I bet he has some sort of con going where you can either A. recycle the batteries and get money..Or B. Recharge the batteries and resell them for money...just a hunch..

They sell Duracells by my job for 1$ (bootleggers)..they dont even last half the life of the ones I buy at the supermarket..?? for 2.99$

[legion88]

Originally posted by !plonk*
1 Rocket into space does more damage than all of aerosal cans ever created..Its pretty pathetic..So I was told by someone who works for the gov. and NASA..not sure if this is true though..

Back on topic..
I bet he has some sort of con going where you can either A. recycle the batteries and get money..Or B. Recharge the batteries and resell them for money...just a hunch..

They sell Duracells by my job for 1$ (bootleggers)..they dont even last half the life of the ones I buy at the supermarket..?? for 2.99$

Nahh.. He doesn't have any con like that going on. He's your stereotypical lazy ass employee. The only "con" is that he has the talent of making himself look busy. He's the type of guy who takes 6 hours to do a job that can be done in one--the secret of making himself look busy.

Every organization has employees that don't do much. The bigger the organization, the more of these type of employees you'll find. However, there is that small group that has the knack of making it appear they are doing something when in reality they are either doing nothing or not accomplishing anything of substance.

The non-recycling of batteries falls in the category of not accomplishing anything of substance.

My beef is that he portrays his system of sending batteries to a landfill for disposal as "recycling". That's fraudulent.

[legion88]

Oregon released news that their state-wide overall recycling rate jumped by like around 8 percent. But there's a little footnote that goes with that jump.

Oregon changed their accounting system (e.g. how they count recycling tonnages). Under the old system, their recycling rate would have gone up by less than 4 percent (and this assumes that the old system didn't have any problems).

Is there any credible recycling program in the country at all?

[Shinri Hikari]

Real recycling usually is when the waste, which in this case is batteries, is broken up and the basic material is used for making
new products(example: new batteries). That said, a landfill, most of the time doesn't have the facilities to do this. And most landfills don't even take the time to sort the things that can be truely be recycled out from the rest to be sent to the real recycling facilities!
I hope now that i have said this that the issue is clearer to understand and this man who claims that landfills are recycling is fired!

[legion88]

Originally posted by Shinri Hikari
... I hope now that i have said this that the issue is clearer to understand and this man who claims that landfills are recycling is fired!

He wasn't fired. He was promoted.

When I brought it to his attention that his action isn't true recycling, he claims--among other things--that a recycling plan includes proper disposal.

I didn't ask for the definition of a "recycling plan". I told him that what he is doing does not promote recycling and it is no different than dropping the batteries into the wastebasket.

[Shinri Hikari]

:(

sorry, forget i said that

[legion88]

Originally posted by Shinri Hikari
:(

sorry, forget i said that

Management is fully aware what is happening. After all, the "recycling" coordinator mass e-mailed the entire organization to tell everyone what he does with the batteries.

Still, he gets promoted.

So who is more at fault: the deceitful recycling coordinator or the deceitful management?

The organization was created to "protect" the environment, by the way.