I had no idea that my friends would actually start listening to me when I started this blog. Some of the content actually came from ideas that we talked about the day before. I thought I’d start by giving you all an update on some of my own changes. On Car Free Day, I didn’t drive at all. Neither did anyone in my family. I saved the grocery shopping until Sunday where I made one more change in my life. I finally purchased two green bags at Publix. You know the reusable shopping bags, and I loved them. They were large enough to hold about the same amount of food as a paper grocery bag, they don’t tear or break, and they are water-proof. Yes, I did have to test the water-proof ability when it rained on our way out of the store. Now I just have to remember to take them with me on my next trip to the store.
Today’s tip is on batteries. My son uses so many alkaline batteries to operate all those fancy toys that are out today. Everything takes batteries. I first invested in a rechargeable battery set a few years ago with my digital camera; it went through AA’s so fast. Now I just keep the batteries on the charger until I’m ready to take pictures and I always have a full charge in the camera. Now I’m considering buying a larger charger to replace all of my son’s toy batteries. My battery box of used batteries typically consists of AA, AAA, and C batteries and they are all available in a rechargeable. Did you know that you can recharge the rechargeable batteries over 500 times?
I guess while I’m talking about batteries I should talk about how to safely dispose of them once you can’t use them any longer. Household batteries, rechargeable batteries, cell phone batteries, etc all contain hazardous materials and should not be thrown in the trash. While household alkaline batteries contain very little hazardous materials it is still better not to throw them in the trash. Most batteries can be recycled by going to you municipalities household hazardous waste facility or drop-off center. I know the city I live in has household hazardous waste days throughout the year. Most office supply stores, cell phone stores, etc will also take batteries for recycling. Check with your city or county solid waste department or visit Earth911 for a list of facilities. Here are some interesting websites if you want to learn more about the hazards of a specific type of battery.
http://earth911.org/blog/2007/07/05/how-to-recycle-and-properly-dispose-of-batteries/
http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/batteries.php
I always listen to you and your ideas.