As of Sept. 3, a program allowing residents of local single-family households or in apartment buildings with four units or less to dispose of household batteries and cellphones on collection day re-launched with an important change.
Instead of putting batteries and cellphones into clear zip-top bags and placing them on the blue cart, which is the recycling cart, the program now requires residents to place them on the black cart, or the trash cart.
It’s an important safety change involving a local recycling center.
“Currently, the RethinkWaste-owned Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos finds on average 13 batteries per hour on the recycling sort line,” officials said. “Batteries are helpful in everyday life, but when batteries are improperly disposed of and end up in a facility with lots of heavy equipment, this can lead to a bad combination. On September 7, 2016, the Shoreway Environmental Center experienced a four-alarm fire that was likely called by a lithium-ion battery. Thankfully all staff were evacuated safely, but it cost $8.5 million in damages.”