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People are using more and more household batteries. The average person owns about two button batteries, ten normal (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc.) batteries, and throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about 32 per family or ten per person. A battery is an electrochemical device with the ability to convert chemical energy to electrical energy to provide power to electronic devices. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion processPeople are using more and more household batteries. The average person owns about two button batteries, ten normal (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc.) batteries, and throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about 32 per family or ten per person. A battery is an electrochemical device with the ability to convert chemical energy to electrical energy to provide power to electronic devices. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process.

As of Aug. 15, Leduc County will be a registered site for recycling various types of rechargeable and non-rechargeable household batteries, including nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH), lithium ion (Li-ion), small sealed lead (Pb) and nickel zinc (Ni-Zn). The battery type can be found printed on the battery's casing.

How does a company sell more cell phones in a cutthroat, competitive market? Launch new so-called "green" models. This morning Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung said at the World IT Show in Seoul that it will start selling two eco-friendly handsets this month. The first is the W510 (pictured on the left) which is made out of a corn-based bioplastic and doesn't contain any heavy metals, like lead, mercury and cadmium. This is Samsung's first bioplastic phone, but Samsung is not the first big-name consumer electronics maker to work with the alt-material - in January Fujitsu touted a laptop with a bioplastic case at CES. And Nokia has the 3310 Evolve , which is made partly out of biomaterials .

BRISTOL, Va. - There's a flip side to that newfangled cell phone found under the Christmas tree. Sooner or later, the outdated cell phones clogging the kitchen drawer have to go. However, when they do go, don't forget that those electronic beeps and whistles are powered by mercury, cadmium, lead and other toxic metals destined to seep into, and out of, a landfill. And toxic metals, such as mercury, can cause brain and kidney damage, as well as cancer, when released into the ground and air, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality reports. So, instead of dumping outdated gadgets and gizmos into the trash can, environmental and industry leaders recommend recycling, which, in the case of electronics, is known as e-cycling. For nearly six years, Bristol Virginia Public Works has picked up laptops, monitors and even fluorescent light tubes left in marked boxes by the curb. As part of a statewide e-cycling effort, the technology is carted off during regular pickups.

Maybe you just got a new TV or computer. Great. What's going to happen to the old one? You could sell it, donate it or recycle it. Just don't throw it in the trash."There are so many toxics in electronics it is very important that they be kept out of the landfill," said Tom Watson, King County's Eco-Consumer. He says those toxic materials include mercury, cadmium and lead. "In some of some of the older computer monitors and TVs, there are more than 4 pounds of lead in those," he said.

CEH report, Oct. 2006. In the past few years, the storm of complaints about UNICOR's recycling program from prisoners, prison guards, and others has brought these hidden sweatshops into public view. Since 1994, UNICOR has built a lucrative business that employs prisoners to recycle electronic waste (e-waste). A massive array of ewaste is largely hidden from view, as are the workers who handle the waste. Over 100,000 computers become obsolete in the U.S. every day. E-waste includes computers, personal digital assistants, TVs, and other electronic devices. E-waste is a doubleedged sword: it is rich in precious materials that can be recycled, but it also contains a cocktail of hazardous chemicals such as lead, mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and cadmium. This report examines the e-waste recycling programs run by Federal Prison Industries (FPI), a government-owned corporation that does business under the trade name UNICOR.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have introduced legislation that would promote research and development of programs to improve the recycling of electronic equipment. The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act would provide research grants to find ways to deal with electronic waste, much of which contains hazardous materials including lead and cadmium.

Image summarizing hazardous materials found in computers; Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition via WRPPN