Don't throw away your old batteries

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - It's common knowledge paper, plastic and aluminum are recyclable items. But what some people might not know is the every day batteries are recyclable items too.

"They're as easy to recycle as plastic bottle or a newspaper. It's just people don't know it," said owner of Interstate Batteries in West Lafayette, Ryan Elliott.

Elliott said people are making a big mistake when they throw out their old batteries.

"They're terribly harmful to the environment. They're 100 percent recyclable and they take up just precious landfill space and it's silly to use that space on batteries," said Elliott. "They're extremely harmful when they're just left out on the side of the road, in your barn cracked and spilling acid everywhere."

Elliott said to help the environment, you can bring any type of used battery into his store for free. Those used batteries get shipped out, melted down and recycled for future use. There's also some monetary incentive to recycle your old batteries.

"If they bring in anything that's a car battery or bigger we will give some cash out for them," said Elliott.

You can earn between one to five dollars for those kinds of batteries. But he said while people may appreciate the extra cash, ultimately the most important reason to recycle is the environment.

"We find a lot of batteries in ditches on the side of the road, and it's a shame because there's no reason for it," said Elliott. "The more people we can get that word out to, the better this environment's going to be."

Elliott said he receives between 500 to 1,500 pounds of used batteries a week. That's not including heavy car batteries.

But how can you find where to take your batteries if you don't live in the Lafayette area? Earth911 can help find a location near you if you enter your zip code.