Sedona Recycles Inc.

News and Events

Battery recycling is easier than ever

Meghan Kincheloe, Sedona Recycles
Sedona Red Rock News
January 18, 2012

Battery recycling hasn't always been easy. Those of you who have been frequenting the recycling center for many years may remember the 55-gallon drum filled with batteries that used to sit in our entryway.

This barrel was our worst nightmare. It was heavy, toxic, and expensive to dispose of. Back then we didn't have a way to truly recycle batteries. The only option was to pay $1 per pound to have them buried at the hazardous waste landfill in Flagstaff, where they would spend all of eternity sitting in an underground concrete box. Not exactly the stuff that recycling dreams are made of.

Luckily we were able to find the nation's only recycler of both disposable and rechargeable batteries. Although we still have to pay to safely recycle the batteries we receive (65¢ per pound plus shipping), at least we know we are paying to have these batteries truly recycled into new items. Read on to find out how and why you should recycle your batteries.

Batteries 101

Every year Americans buy nearly three billion household batteries to power their gadgets. Approximately one fifth of these batteries are rechargeable, while the remainder last just one charge. Both disposable and rechargeable batteries contain some pretty nasty heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc, manganese, and nickel, so it is important to consider how you dispose of them.

Batteries contribute approximately 88% of the total mercury and 50% of the cadmium in the solid waste stream. These and other heavy metals may leach from landfills or vaporize when burned in incinerators and pollute soil, water, and air. It is possible to keep these toxic metals from polluting the environment by recycling your batteries.

All batteries can and should be recycled. Americans now recycle over 99% of auto batteries, but very few household batteries are recycled. In 2010, Call2Recycle, the nation's only free rechargeable battery recycler, collected 3,350 tons of rechargeable batteries, a 10.1% increase over 2009, but this accounts for only a fraction of the estimated 14,000 tons of rechargeable batteries that die each year.

Disposable batteries make up an even greater chunk of the waste stream, with 180,000 tons discarded each year and very few of these recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency says you can throw away your alkaline batteries, but we disagree. While mercury has been phased out of disposable alkaline batteries, reducing the environmental risks of improper disposal, these batteries can still be recycled into useful items like rebar.

The heavy metals in rechargeable and button cell batteries pose more of an environmental threat, but all the metals used in these batteries can be separated during the recycling process and used in remanufacturing, sometimes even becoming part of new rechargeable batteries. Plastic casings, such as those found on uninterrupted power supply units, can be recycled into new battery casings.

Battery recycling in Sedona

Recycling your batteries is easier than ever! Sedona Recycles is now collecting batteries seven days a week inside our facility during business hours (8am-4pm). As a result, the monthly battery collection events at New Frontiers Natural Marketplace will no longer take place. Just bring along your batteries whenever you do the rest of your household recycling. Auto batteries can be recycled at local auto parts stores.

The new battery recycling station clearly shows how to separate your batteries into two, easy-to-understand categories. Separating your batteries makes a big difference for the staff and volunteers that sort through the batteries we receive. Please weigh your batteries using the provided scale and consider making a $1 per pound donation to help offset the costs of true battery recycling. Our friendly staff is always available to help answer your questions about recycling batteries and any other items we accept.

The battery recycling station was made possible by a generous grant from the Sedona 30, as part of a new educational and collection center inside the Sedona Recycles facility. The new collection center is part of our constant goal to make recycling as easy and accessible as possible.

So come on down, bring those stray batteries, and come see the improvements that are making recycling easier than ever. That's what we're here for!

For more information on our new battery recycling station please contact us at (928) 204-1185 or visit www.sedonarecycles.org.

Can recycling save the economy?

Meghan Kincheloe, Sedona Recycles
Sedona Red Rock News
December 21, 2011

Why do you recycle?

Most of you would probably say that you recycle because it's good for the environment. Others might say that recycling saves money. There are numerous reasons to recycle, but there are probably very few people that recycle for the main reason highlighted in a new report: job creation.

The report, More Jobs, Less Pollution: Growing the Recycling Economy in the U.S., provides a glimpse into a not so distant future where the U.S. enjoys a 75% recycling rate, resulting in 1.5 million new jobs in the recycling industry by 2030.

The reuse and recycling industries create four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries. For every job collecting recyclables, there are 26 jobs in processing the materials and manufacturing them into new products.

The More Jobs, Less Pollution report estimates that jobs in the recycling industry will increase 270% compared to 2008 levels if the U.S. can reach a recycling rate equal to that of cities like San Francisco. If a 75% recycling rate is reached, that means that approximately 2.3 million jobs will be directly created as a result of recycling and composting.

In this economy, statistics such as these are heartening. And how wonderful it is that we can create these jobs simply by being conscious of how we dispose of our waste. Never has it been clearer that we Americans are throwing away not just recyclables, but money.

Currently the U.S. has an average recycling rate of 33%. Here in Sedona and the Verde Valley, the recycling rate is far less. So how do we reach such a lofty goal?

The More Jobs, Less Pollution report is not suggesting any revolutionary changes. There is no need to radically change the way we do things. Instead, we simply need to implement a range of policies and techniques that have proven effective in thousands of cities throughout the U.S. and around the world.

These best practices include:

Pay as you Throw (PAYT) waste collection programs, which encourage recycling and composting by charging customers based on the volume they throw away.
Green building codes that greatly reduce construction waste and encourage reuse and recycling of materials.
Grants to help fund the development of recycling and composting facilities, as well as recycling-based manufacturing. Grants such as these are the reason that Sedona Recycles exists!
Legislation requiring recycling and composting at residences and businesses.
Disposal bans on recyclable materials such as electronics and batteries.
Bans on difficult to recycle items such as Styrofoam food packaging and plastic bags.
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations that require manufacturers to be partially responsible for the disposal of products. These regulations encourage changes in product and packaging design to increase recyclability or compostability.
Bottle bills that encourage recycling by offering rebates for the return of glass, metal, and plastic bottles containing beverages of any kind.

These policies and programs have already increased recycling and composting rates - and jobs - in many cities. A nationwide push for such programs could easily result in the estimates suggested by the More Jobs, Less Pollution report.

But, as we all know, recycling is about more than just jobs. In addition to the 1.5 million jobs that would be created, a national recycling rate of 75% would lead to:

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to shutting down 72 coal power plants or taking 50 million cars off the road.
Reduction of pollution produced by the harvesting, manufacturing, and transportation of products made without recyclable content.
Reduction of pollution caused by the landfilling of toxic, recyclable materials such as batteries and electronics.

These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. Recycling and composting improve our lives across the board. There are few choices we can make each day that can have such a large impact.

So how do we get started? If you already recycle, step back and take a look at your purchasing habits and other ways that you accumulate goods.

Are you buying items in packaging that cannot be recycled locally? Consider buying milk in a plastic or glass container instead of a conventional milk carton. Are you getting tons of junk mail and catalogs? Call the companies that are sending you mail and ask to be removed from their mailing lists. Did your dentist send you home with a bag of dental hygiene products you will never use? Take the bag back during your next visit.

As we are always told, we vote with our dollars. So take a stand and start that home compost pile. Refuse that free pen or t-shirt. Buy items with minimal packaging. Give your dollars to recycling instead of landfills. Money talks and sometimes it is the only voice we have. So raise your voice, get out there, and create jobs, one empty bottle at a time.

For more information on reducing your waste and helping the economy, contact Sedona Recycles at (928) 204-1185 or visit www.sedonarecycles.org.

The success of the Three Rs

Meghan Kincheloe, Sedona Recycles
Sedona Red Rock News
November 16, 2011

We often focus on the negative when it comes to the environment. There are so many problems and so much to do that we can get bogged down and forget what we have already accomplished. It is pretty overwhelming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or reach zero waste, so most of us shy away from these humongous goals.

Instead we do the small things: change our light bulbs, adjust the thermostat, and recycle.

If you ask somebody what they are doing to help the planet, 99% of those people are going to say they recycle. They do it because it is easy, but there is so much more to it. The three Rs make a difference that we can see just by looking in our trash cans.

The positive results of recycling are not only easy to see, they make us feel good too. Admit it, you get a warm fuzzy feeling when you remember to take your reusable bags to the grocery store. The three Rs constantly remind us that we can make a difference in this crazy world.

Although there is always more to be done, the truth is that recycling (along with its friends reduce and reuse) is the most successful environmental movement in history. Humans have been recycling for as long as we have produced waste.

Archaeologists find evidence of recycling in ancient dumps and Plato extolled the virtues of recycling back in 400 BC. Recycling is human nature and it is here to stay for one reason: it works!

In 1960, when the EPA began recording recycling statistics, just 6.4% of the waste produced in the US was recycled, but now this figure has reached an all time high of 33.2%. Some cities, such as San Francisco, boast recycling rates as high as 78% and are on their way to producing close to no landfill waste.

In 2008, Americans recycled and composted 83 million tons of waste. Keeping these materials out of landfills and incinerators saved 1.3 quadrillion BTU of energy, equivalent to more than 10.2 billion gallons of gasoline, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 182 million metric tons, equal to the emissions of 33 million passenger cars.

It cannot be denied; recycling is a success story.

There are few symbols that are easily recognizable throughout the world, but the recycling symbol is one. It doesn't matter where you are; if you see the chasing arrows, you know that it means recycling.

And the movement just keeps on growing. You rarely hear arguments about why we should all recycle less because there aren't any good ones. When it comes down to it, recycling is doing its part to save the world, one can and bottle at a time.

Recycling is successful both individually and collectively. It is often used to unite people to work towards a common goal. During both world wars, recycling was considered a patriotic duty. Wartime posters encouraged people to save scrap paper, cans, rubber, and rags to recycle into items needed for the wars.

Today recycling can unite communities as well. Residents of Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco all tout their progressive recycling programs and high diversion rates as a point of civic pride. The three Rs truly unite rather than divide.

The success of recycling give us much to be thankful for as we head into the holiday season. We can proudly say that half of the carpet produced in the U.S. is made of recycled plastic bottles. Glass bottles and jars contain at least 25% recycled material. And all American made steel contains a minimum of 25% post-consumer content.

Your participation makes recycling successful and keeps you engaged in actively protecting our environment every day. It might not seem like much, but when all our efforts are stacked together, we are making a difference.

So pat yourself on the back and be thankful for all that you - and we - have accomplished. If we stick together and keep tackling the small things, we will be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach zero waste. We can do it!

For more information on the three Rs and the successes of waste diversion, please contact Sedona Recycles at (928) 204-1185 or visit www.sedonarecycles.org.

Past News

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Sedona Recycles, Inc. 2280 Shelby Dr. Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 204-1185 fax: (928) 204-1330 email