Battery chargers, Solar, and Rechargeable
At eco-battery.com we are intrigued by the power that surrounds us in our daily lives! We seek to provide information about batteries and their various uses/implications. Eco-battery is not endorsed by any particular brand or manufacturer; we’re only concerned with providing safe information and guiding readers into being more ecologically responsible in their energy use.
We use batteries almost every day – they power all the appliances we use that make our lives easy and convenient. Basically, a battery is comprised of two or more electrochemical cells that produce chemical energy – which in turn becomes electrical energy. Many scientists believe that physicist Alessandro Volta was the originator of the modern battery, having invented it in the early 1800s.
Batteries are made to be either disposable or rechargeable. The types of electrochemical cells include flow cells, galvanic cells, electrolytic cells, fuel cells, and voltaic piles. Heavy metals lead, mercury, and cadmium are all used in the manufacture of batteries.
Batteries have become one of the most expensive and wasteful (albeit convenient and portable) sources of energy. Due to the rampant and unrestricted use of batteries, toxic metal pollution has become a global environmental issue. To reduce the amount of disposable batteries ending up in landfills, some companies have implemented recycling programs to recover valuable elements and safely dispose of the toxic parts.
Here in the 21st Century, cell phone batteries, laptop computer batteries, camcorder batteries, camera batteries, and battery chargers have become absolutely essential in America, if not all over the world. Watches, cars, clocks, mp3 players: all powered by batteries.
Take peoples’ portable power away from them and there could be serious insurrections all over the place. However this does little to change the reality that humanity’s increased usage of these products has created some serious amounts of dangerous waste.
Inform, Inc. reports that in America alone, approximately 179,000 TONS of batteries are thrown away every year and about 14,000 tons of those are rechargeable. Inform offers the following tips to reducing battery waste:
• Buy products that eliminate or minimize battery use.
• When buying battery-powered devices, avoid unnecessary luxuries (such as full-color screens on a PDA or a cell phone that also doubles as an mp3 player).
• Choose rechargeable batteries for all appropriate applications.
• Look for and buy products that can be powered using rechargeables.
• Maintain your batteries (when not in use, remove batteries from devices you don’t use as often).
• Try reusing batteries in low-drain devices (if the battery in your digital camera – a high-drain device) dies, try using it in your television remote control, etc.)
Disposing batteries can be a very tricky ordeal, so it’s best to use rechargeable batteries all the time. In most states, it’s against the law to dispose of batteries in any other place besides a government-regulated facility. For example, alkaline batteries can go in the normal trash in every state except California and Minnesota, which require them to be disposed as hazardous waste. To find out the closest waste-facility in your area, consult a phone book or conduct a simple Internet search.
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