City Of Iowa City: Batteries Should Not Go Into The Trash

Press release from the City of Iowa City:

February 14, 2022

National Battery Day is Feb. 18, 2022, and Iowa City is celebrating the importance of proper and safe battery disposal.

Since 2020, the Resource Management Division has safely and properly recycled nearly 4,000 pounds of alkaline batteries and over 800 pounds of rechargeable batteries. With the expansion of the program in 2020 to include alkaline batteries and additional drop-off locations in the Iowa City area, rechargeable battery recycling has increased by 15%.

When a battery ends up in the trash and eventually makes its way to the landfill, heavy equipment that compacts trash can damage the battery. A damaged battery can spark and ignite a fire or release hazardous material into the landfill or environment.

Residents of Johnson County and the cities of Kalona and Riverside can recycle single-use (such as alkaline) and rechargeable (such as lithium-ion) batteries at no cost at the following drop-off locations:

Damaged batteries or large batteries (such as lead-acid batteries) should be taken to the Hazardous Material Collection Facility at the Iowa City Landfill, 3900 Hebl Ave. SW.

An sincere thank you to our partners at the local Ace Hardware stores, Iowa City Fire Department, and Cities of Coralville and North Liberty for helping to reduce battery fires and protect our environment. City staff also want to thank the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for their grant funding and outreach support via the statewide “Take Charge” battery education program.

For more information on when and where you can recycle batteries, check out www.icgov.org/hhm.

Questions? Contact the Recycling Coordinator at jane-wilch@iowa-city.org or at 319-887-6110.

This press release was produced by the City of Iowa City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.