Please support building a statewide household battery recycling program in California. Virtually all household batteries contain hazardous materials and are thus prohibited from disposal into landfills. By establishing a consumer refund value and utilizing existing recycling service providers, we can help reduce the more than 38,000 tons of toxic batteries that are landfilled annually.

TAKE ACTION! Print the following petition and give it to the manager of your local retailer.

The Problem
Virtually all household batteries, including rechargeable and one-time use (alkaline) batteries, contain hazardous materials and their disposal in landfill is prohibited. Under California's Universal Waste Rule, households were granted a temporary exemption from this landfill ban which expired on February 8, 2006.

According to the US EPA approximately three billion batteries are sold in the US annually. Currently less than five percent of rechargeables and less than one percent of one-time use batteries are recycled. This means that as many as 300 million batteries are landfilled in California each year – a practice that is now prohibited. 

In 2006, CAW sponsored Assembly Bill 2271 (Koretz), which would have established a Consumer Refund Value (CRV) system for one-time use household (Alkaline) batteries, essentially the same system that has been successfully used to recycle bottles and cans. Unfortunately, the bill stalled in the Assembly. The bill would have established a 10 cent refund value and utilized existing recycling service providers to help reduce the more than 38,000 tons of toxic batteries that are landfilled annually. Establishing a consumer redemption value on all toxic household batteries would have helped consumers comply with current state regulations that make it illegal to dispose any battery in a common trash can and incentivized residents to recycle every household battery for cash.

Please send the letter on this page in support of household battery recycling opportunities.