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What
happens to household toxic items such as batteries and printer
cartridges on Maui?
Maui
Recycling Service is proud to step in to offer yet another service
not offered by anyone else on Maui, but is desperately needed!
Batteries
contain heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium. They pose a real
threat to humans, animals, and the environment when disposed
of improperly, such as thrown into landfills or incinerated.
Although batteries generally make up only a tiny portion of
municipal solid waste (MSW)—less than 1 percent—they account
for a disproportionate amount of the toxic heavy metals in MSW.
(For example, the EPA has reported that, as of 1995,
nickel-cadmium batteries accounted for 75 percent of the
cadmium found in MSW. and in 1989, 88 percent of the
mercury.) Cadmium is related to lung and kidney damage,
while mercury contamination is related to developmental harm,
particularly to the brain and nervous system of children. Several
states, and countries, actually ban batteries from landfills and
incineration.
Even
though battery companies have reduced the amount of mercury in
standard batteries over the past few years there are better
options available, such as rechargeable and renewable batteries. Rechargeable
batteries too contain heavy metals, but they can be used over and
over again and also can be recycled. There are also
"renewable" batteries and a Nickel-Metal Hydride Cells
which offer more capacity per cell than nicads, and, supposedly,
no toxic chemicals.
Whereas
we strongly encourage you
to use rechargeable/renewable batteries over standard batteries
or better yet.... electric powered by solar! We do
acknowledge a great need for someone to keep all batteries
out of the landfill, so have taken it upon ourselves to do what we
can in that regard.
As a pilot
project, we will now accept both standard household batteries
(e.g. AAA, AA, C, D, button batteries, etc.) and printer
cartridges along with the other items currently picked up from
residential houses.
The printer cartridges will be donated
to the 9th life cat
sanctuary to help them raise money and continue doing what they
are doing.
The batteries
will be shipped to the mainland for processing and recycling.
Accepting batteries will actually cost us money, as does other
items like mixed paper, but we feel it is way too important to
ignore any longer! For now, we will try to make it work without
raising our rates. The battery recycling will cost us around $3 a
pound, not including labor.
If you do use the battery service, donations will be welcome.
Please put
batteries and printer cartridges, as you do for cell phones, in a
used (but clean) plastic bag or container and set them next to
your bins, or within a bin but clearly separated for us, on pickup
day.
Please,
do not accept batteries or anything else from neighbors or anyone
else. We depend on you, our paying customers to make this
work. If someone wants to give you any of their recyclables to put
in your bins, please, tell them to sign up for their own service
subscription. Maui Recycling Service won’t survive otherwise.
If
you use the battery service, donations will be very welcome! Our
cost comes out to almost three dollars a pound,
and
unfortunately, batteries are very heavy!
We DO NOT take auto batteries., they can be taken to
Carquest on Dairy Road, or
the Olowalu transfer station, or where you bought them from.
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