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Battery recycling facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Electric batteries
Different kinds of old batteries
Recycling lead in a lead-acid battery recovery facility
A worker is recycling the lead from batteries.

Many batteries are thrown away in regular waste after they have been used. Battery recycling is a name of the process of separately collecting such batteries so that they can be disposed of properly. Batteries contain metals such as lead, copper or zinc. In the form that is used in the batteries, these metals are very harmful to the environment - most are toxic. Collecting the batteries allows the extraction of some of the metals, which can then be re-used, not thrown away. The parts that cannot be extracted or re-used are disposed of in a way that is less harmful to the environment. For this reason, many countries have rules that say that a given percentage of all batteries must be re-cycled.

Battery composition by type

Italics designates button cell types.
Bold designates secondary types.
All figures are percentages; due to rounding they may not add up to exactly 100.

Type Fe Mn Ni Zn Hg Li Ag Cd Co Al Pb Other KOH Paper Plastic Alkali C Acids Water Other
Alkaline 24.8 22.3 0.5 14.9 1.3 1 2.2 5.4 3.7 10.1 14
Zinc-carbon 16.8 15 19.4 0.1 0.8 0.7 4 6 9.2 12.3 15.2
Lithium 50 19 1 2 7 2 19
Mercury-oxide 37 1 1 14 31 2 3 1 3 7
Zinc-air 42 35 1 4 4 1 10 3
Lithium 60 18 1 3 3 2 13
Alkaline 37 23 1 11 0.6 6 2 2 6 14
Silver oxide 42 2 2 9 0.4 31 4 2 1 0.5 2 4
Nickel-cadmium 35 22 15 10 2 5 11
NiMH 20 1 35 1 4 10 9 4 8 8
Li-ion 22 3 18 5 11 13 28
Lead-acid 65 4 10 16 5

Images for kids

  • Pallet of scrap lead-acid automotive batteries (wide view)

    Lead–acid batteries collected by an auto parts retailer for recycling.

  • Batteries comparison 4,5 D C AA AAA AAAA A23 9V CR2032 LR44 matchstick-1

    4.5-Volt, D, C, AA, AAA, AAAA, A23, 9-Volt, CR2032, and LR44 cells are all recyclable in most countries

  • Button cells and 9v cells (3)

    Several sizes of button and coin cell. They are all recyclable in the UK and Ireland.

  • Battery recycling on a bus stop in Madrid, Spain (cropped)

    A battery recycling station at a bus stop in Madrid.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Reciclaje de pilas y baterías para niños

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Battery recycling Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.