Ideal Bite

How full is your AA cup?

10.13.2006

Submitted by idealbite on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 5:00pm.

The Bite:

Old batteries pile up quick. Starve a landfill by keeping a cup for old alkalines in a cup or box, and then dropping it off once a year for recycling. Next, help your wallet by switching to rechargeable batteries and solar powered gadgets to power up, sans waste.

The Benefits:

Solar chargers that tap the power of the sun make sense for your wallet. After the initial investment, you're home-free.
New rechargeable batteries can be charged up to 1000 times. You'll save hundreds.
Rechargeable batteries come in every shape and size, from AA to D and beyond.
When they're dead, recycle both regular alkalines and rechargeables, since we Americans currently landfill the weight of about 5,967,000 desktop computers in batteries each year.

Personally Speaking:

Jen's cup is so full that taking it in for recycling is at the top of her to-do list. It's all good in Bite techie Brett's 'hood with his Solio charger, which he uses for his mp3 player and cell phone on weekend hikes in the Bozeman mountains.

Wanna Try:

Power Film Foldable Solar Charger ($300) and AA/AAA Charger ($40) - originally designed for our troops, this solar film's super-light.
Solio - the sweetest little portable charger around. Plug into your cell phone or mp3 player for a quick fix ($100).
The Big Green Box - postage-paid recycling bin for as many as 40 lbs of battery waste - just take it to the post office when full ($58).
Green Batteries - carries (almost) every rechargeable battery under the sun, plus home plug-in options for those who live in eternal darkness and can't use solar.
Earth911 and Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation - locate your nearest recycling drop-off site.
FYI: Rechargeables lose their juice faster than non-rechargeable alkalines. As a result, you probably want to stick with conventional batteries in your smoke alarm.