SLA Batteries are an important part of our lives but they do have a limited lifespan so what do you do when they’ve come to the end of their run? Chances are these items are banned from landfills and rightly so. Incinerators are out of the question due to their toxic nature. So what do you do with them?
Interestingly, many of its components are actually recyclable. The plastic that most of them are made out of can be recycled plus the lead which can be reused in new batteries so by many estimates, about 85% – 95% of all SLA batteries can be reused in some fashion. We’re all very familiar with the benefits of recycling (cleaner planet, natural mineral conservation, minimize energy etc) so the fact that most components in our batteries are able to be recycled is good news indeed.
The process itself is quite interesting. Essentially the batteries are crushed and then go into a water separating process to pull the lead and plastic away from each other. The lead sinks to the bottom, the plastic to the top. Here’s a good video explanation going over the actual recycling process.
What to do with your old SLA battery?
With that in mind, it’s important to know how you can actually go about recycling your battery. At TOYO Batteries we accept Lead Acid Batteries (SLA, VRLA, AGM) for our recycling program, you’ll just need to ship it to our head office in Miami or if you are local, you can drop it off at our warehouse. The battery casings are very durable so shipping is no problem.
LOCAL DROP OFF / SHIPPING ADDRESS:
U.S. POWER OF MIAMI
4606 NW 74th Ave
Miami, FL 33166
Phone: (305) 468-1978
There may also be drop off locations around you where you can take them to be responsibly disposed. A lot of car part and auto shops will certainly take car batteries and many of them will take other kinds.
It might also be worth investigating specific waste and recycling centers in your city or town. Many have free locations where you can drop off batteries rather than having to ship or dump them (which you should never do).