Batteries are essential for providing the energy most of our everyday items need in order to properly function. Whether it’s a flashlight or a cell phone, batteries are extremely beneficial while they still have power. But what about what happens to batteries after they are no longer needed? Most people don’t think twice about proper battery disposal. Too often the batteries are simply thrown away into the trash and forgotten, and eventually are dumped in ever expanding landfills. This is extremely dangerous, as old batteries are highly combustible and can potentially start fires. Thus it is important to dispose of batteries (even AAAs) safely. In fact, most batteries can even be recycled.

To recycle batteries you must know what type of battery you’re using and how they can be disposed of properly. The most common battery types include lead acid (small sealed batteries to large car batteries), nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride (AA or AAA rechargeable batteries), alkaline (AA or AAA non-rechargeable batteries) and lithium ion (such as a cell phone battery). Usually product manuals or the batteries themselves will tell you the type of battery. Lead acid and nickel-cadmium batteries are very toxic and can cause contamination of soil and water, so they must be properly disposed of by taking them to your local recycling center. You can find a local recycling center by searching recyclingcenters.org. Nickel-metal-hydride batteries are semi-toxic and should also be taken to your local recycling center for disposal. Alkaline and lithium ion are the least toxic, and can be returned to most stores for recycling. 

Retriev, formerly Toxco, and the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) do most of the collecting and recycling of spent batteries in North America. RBRC collects batteries through their non-profit organization Call2Recycle. Call2Recycle is a product stewardship program providing no-cost battery and cellphone recycling solutions across the U.S. and Canada. Both of these organizations’ missions are to ensure that batteries are being collected and recycled properly so that the need for new material is reduced and to protect our environment.

Maxsa Innovations is determined to keep our environment as clean and healthy as it possibly can, and we strive towards this goal by designing our products to absorb solar energy and convert it into energy for our rechargeable batteries. This process is not only convenient and easy for our customers, but also a productive step towards our larger cause of improving the environment as much as we possibly can by significantly lengthening the amount of time before a replacement battery is needed. However, all batteries eventually need replacing, so it’s vitally important that everyone knows how to properly recycle old and worn out batteries.

Maxsa Innovations solar products use Li-ion batteries, sealed Lead-Acid batteries, and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. All of these are rechargeable, and can be sent to Maxsa Innovations for proper disposal. We sort the batteries by type and they are taken to the appropriate recycling center.

Some of our products with each battery type are listed below:

Lithium-ion Battery Packs 

• SOLAR-POWERED MOTION-ACTIVATED 150 LED SECURITY FLOODLIGHT 
• SOLAR-POWERED 100 LED MOTION-ACTIVATED OUTDOOR SECURITY FLOODLIGHT
• SOLAR-POWERED SECURITY VIDEO CAMERA AND SPOTLIGHT 
• SOLAR-POWERED SECURITY VIDEO CAMERA AND FLOODLIGHT
• SOLAR-POWERED MOTION-ACTIVATED 80 LED SECURITY FLOODLIGHT

Sealed Lead-Acid Batteries

• SOLAR-POWERED 50 LED MOTION-ACTIVATED OUTDOOR SECURITY FLOODLIGHT
• SOLAR-POWERED 30 WATT HALOGEN MOTION-ACTIVATED OUTDOOR SECURITY FLOODLIGHT

Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries

• SOLAR-POWERED ALUMINUM 80 LED SOLAR SECURITY LIGHT
• SOLAR POWERED DUAL HEAD SECURITY LIGHT – OFF-WHITE
• SOLAR-POWERED FLOOD LIGHT
• SOLAR-POWERED LED FLAG LIGHT

To protect our environment and to ensure its safety it is vitally important that all batteries are being properly recycled. While there are numerous organizations dedicated to this specific task, their efforts alone are not enough. Everyone must help, and the only way to truly help is to not only think green but to make sure waste is minimal and contained. Disposing batteries at recycling centers or stores or sending them back to MAXSA so we can recycle them only takes a few minutes, but doing so helps our environment enormously by reducing the risk of pollution and contamination. One simple step can go a long way towards a clean and healthy environment for both today and for the future.