We as consumers hear more and more about how the things that we do in our daily lives are affecting the planet’s deterioration. From air travel and driving cars, to cell phone use, to listening to tunes, it seems that there is nothing that we do that does not leave our gigantic footprint permanently imprinted on the face of the earth, regardless of what the green police might say.
Battery recycling programs are more and more common all the time and all over the world, and are the appropriate way to dispose of batteries. That said, recycling batteries is a huge energy cost and causes a serious amount of pollution, so bear in mind that you could be tossing out just one set of rechargeable batteries for every how many sets of disposables.
Our little powerful friends bring up quite a few issues on the green front. Over 15 billion batteries are manufactured annually, most of which come in the form of alkaline, which typically are disposable and seriously contaminating. Fortunately, many electronic gadgets now come equipped with their own rechargeable battery packs, be they lithium-ion or nickel metal hydride. These can be charged quickly and will last for the life of your camera, mp3 player, or shaver.
Paper and plastic have been the biggest contributors to recycling since the government has been campaigning to encourage us all this way. Plastic recycling is quite an expensive process. Due to this fact, much of the recyclable plastics are shipped from the US and UK to Asian countries, such as China and Vietnam, where the cheap labour and lax environmental laws keep the cost down.
If we love our planet and we have to do something to help saving it. The first step is to sit down and observe nature and its wonders. It is so well designed and well thought out. Everything has a use! There is no waste! This is an important principle we all should learn.
