County of Simcoe powers up for Battery Collection Week

Battery collection. (Eric Taschner/CTV)

Do you have any dead batteries lying around the house? Well, you won’t for much longer.

On Nov. 3, the County of Simcoe is charging up for Battery Collection Week. “This initiative plays a vital role in promoting the safe and environmentally responsible disposal of household batteries, and we encourage all residents to take part in protecting our environment,” stated the county on its website.

How it works

If you have a designated battery bag, you are free to use it. Due to delivery disruptions at Canada Post, battery bags were not mailed out to local residents this year.

If you don’t have a battery bag or need additional space, you could also get away with using a large, clear resealable bag instead.

On your scheduled collection day, place your bag of batteries on top of your waste cart rather than inside it. This ensures that the batteries are clearly visible and easily accessible for the collection crews.

What can go

Here’s what you can include in the bag: Dry cell, single-use batteries such as standard AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt and button batteries. Due to regulatory requirements, only undamaged, single-use, and dry cell batteries are accepted for curbside collection.

Batteries that are not accepted include rechargeable battery packs (NiCad, NiMH, or lithium ion—typically used in laptop computers, cellular phones, etc.), car batteries, industrial batteries, and battery packs.

All of the batteries will be sorted by type in a processing facility and then recycled to recover their respective components, including metal, carbon, manganese, etc. The zinc and manganese recovered from the batteries is used as an ingredient in a micro-nutrient fertilizer, according to the county.

To learn more about your collection day, click here.