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Recycle or dispose of batteries as Universal Waste except for spent (used) lead-acid batteries.
Spent lead acid batteries may continue to be managed under reduced dangerous waste requirements as long as they are recycled according to the requirements of the Dangerous Waste Regulations at WAC 173-303-520.
Dangerous metals and acids are contained within the battery's casing and pose no real risks while the battery is in use. One the casing is broken or opened the dangerous materials within can escape. Lead, mercury, cadmium and other elemental metals that are disposed in municipal solid waste landfills or incinerators do not disappear. They can end up in the water and soil around landfills, and in incinerator air emissions or ash waste.
Possible dangerous waste codes for batteries:
Ecology believes most batteries would designate as federal or state Dangerous Wastes when discarded. This opinion is based on the information gained from a 1998 MSDS database research project. Batteries cannot be designated without either using manufacturers' information or test results to identify their hazardous constituents. A sample of Material Safety Data Sheets from the University of Vermont and Vermont Safety Information Resources, Inc.'s online MSDS database at http://hazard.com/msds/index.html was reviewed for toxicity information. Several major battery manufacturers were also contacted by telephone.
Material Safety Data Sheets are not actually required of battery manufacturers because they are manufactured "articles" (as defined in OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, Section 1910.1200), which do not result in exposure (for workers) to a hazardous chemical under normal conditions of use. An excellent source of MSDS information including Frequently Asked Questions and 85 or more resources is Where to Find MSDS on the Internet at http://www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html
Either recycle or dispose of batteries as Universal Wastes or as Dangerous Waste.
Follow Washington State's Universal Waste rule instead of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Universal Waste Rule.
Battery recycling programs prevent lead and mercury contamination from landfills or incineration by taking batteries out of the waste stream. In recycling, the metals are recovered from the used batteries, and the remainder of the product is recycled or discarded.
A list of typical building products containing mercury is available from the Mercury Waste Solutions Inc website: http://www.mercurywastesolutions.com/. Mercury Waste Solutions recycles these items to recover the mercury.
Lead-acid batteries can be recycled under reduced dangerous waste requirements described in the Dangerous Waste Regulations at WAC 173-303-520. The reduced requirements allow regulated generators to skip Notification and RCRA Site Identification Numbers for their lead-acid batteries.
Batteries generated by homeowners or in residences are not Dangerous Waste due to the Household Hazardous Waste Exclusion.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
