Battery recycling now available

The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County has established a battery recycling program for rechargeable and alkaline batteries.

The agency has partnered with Interstate Batteries in Skokie to provide the recycling at no cost to SWANCC communities, as a corporate product stewardship initiative.

Common household batteries are no longer accepted at Illinois EPA-sponsored household chemical waste events and facilities due to their benign nature and high recycling costs. On the other hand, rechargeable batteries contain heavy metals which pose a threat to our environment, and have a marketable recyclability.

Mary Allen, SWANCC’s recycling and education director, said SWANCC gets a lot of calls each week from residents who want to recycle common household alkaline batteries instead of throwing them in the garbage.

“With this program, all types of residentially generated batteries can be recycled, due to our partnership with Interstate Batteries,” Allen said.

Drop-off details are posted at swancc.org/recycling/batteryrecycling.html.

The following communities are participating: Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Palatine, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Wheeling, Wilmette, Winnetka.