I just read the petition for battery recycling here:

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/CAW/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=399

And, I had a few thoughts. After reading the petition a few times I put myself in the shoes of a busy store owner. (I was picturing the manager of my local Wal-Mart or Home Depot). They are under tough financial restraints due to the economy. They have been laying poeple off and trying to make due with less. The petition comes across to me (as the manager of the store... remember?) as more work and more money. It sounds like one more thing that I can't afford to do and that is going to take a lot of time and effort to set up.  So, I was wondering if we could try to make it easier for a store manager. I was surfing the web and found this site:

http://www.batteryrecycling.com/new+irecycle+kits/

They offer an "all-in-one" recycling kit for batteries which includes an UN approved collection box, pre-paid shipping and pre-paid recycling fees. All the store owner would have to do is put one out and when it fills up.... ship it back. No hassle. No work. No cost. It makes the store manager's job easier. He gets to be the good guy and help out (and make his company look good) while at the same time not creating a bunch of overhead or additional work. It's a win-win for the manager.

These kits cost $35 - $80. So, how to pay for them?

Step 2 -- go to the battery manufacturers (Duracell, Energizer, Panasonic, Radio Shack, Ray-O-Vac, BFM, Fuji, etc..) and ASK them to chip in money for the recycling kits. They also get to look like the good guy because they are demonstrating that they are environmentally responsible. 

So, would it be a feasible plan? Do you think there would be any interest in a program like this?