Big-box stores and some smaller retailers will be required to give customers a chance to recycle used lithium-ion and similar batteries under a new rule passed by the Broward County Commission this week.
The batteries, which are used in electronic devices including laptops, digital cameras, portable power banks, power tools and hoverboards, pose a danger if they’re not disposed of properly. Commissioner Steve Geller, who sponsored the new ordinance, called the new measure a matter of public safety and environmental responsibility.
“Lithium batteries, when disposed of improperly, are causing fires in garbage trucks,” he said. “We found that there are heavy metals in the batteries that can adversely impact our atmosphere and our water when they are disposed of improperly.”
The new rule is not targeted at consumers who throw the items in the trash, though residents are supposed to follow local sanitation rules for the proper disposal of electronics and batteries.
Instead, Geller said, the rule is intended to get retailers to post prominent reminders to customers to encourage battery recycling.
“I didn’t want the small retailer who occasionally sells batteries to be covered,” Geller said. “This is primarily [aimed at] the big-box [retailers].”
He added that the rule, which takes effect in September, will apply to smaller stores if battery sales make up a significant part of their business.
Most big-box retailers already offer free battery recycling through the national nonprofit Call2Recycle program. A list of retailers participating in the program is available at www.call2recycle.org.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.