Batteries Dead? Recycle Instead! Spring 2020

February 25, 2020

Will you be recycling your dead batteries at the curb this spring? See the list of Ontario communities scheduled for Spring 2020 below!

What is it?

Twice a year, Raw Materials Company in partnership with Orange Drop teams up with many Ontario communities to provide people with a convenient option to recycle used household batteries at the curbside.

How does it work?

First, battery recycling bags are sent to households by the municipality, either through the mail, inserted into a newspaper or left behind by the recycling driver.

Following the instructions on the bag, people are asked to round up all of their used, single-use batteries and place them inside the bag sealing it with the zip tab.

On your recycling day that falls during the collection week advertised by the municipality, you set your bag out with the recycling. It's that easy.

The collection container and setout instructions are unique to each municipality. Please refer to your municipal website below for specific setout instructions and collection dates.

Considerations

This recycling option is not provided year round and is only offered in the communities listed below. Batteries should never be placed inside a recycling box loose or set to the curb outside of a designated collection period.

Spring 2020

City of Kawartha Lakes

The curbside battery collection for the City of Kawartha Lakes is scheduled to run from March 9 - 12, 2020.

Please visit the City of Kawartha Lakes website for more information.

Dufferin County

There are eight municipalities that make up Dufferin County including the Townships of Amaranth, East Garafraxa, Melancthon, Mulmur and the Towns of Grand Valley, Mono, Orangeville, and Shelburne.

The curbside battery collection for Dufferin County is scheduled to run from March 9 - 12, 2020.

Please visit the Dufferin County website for more information.

Quinte Waste Solutions

There are nine municipalities serviced by Quinte Waste Solutions including the Cities of Belleville and Quinte West, Prince Edward County, Centre Hastings, the Villages of Tweed and Madoc, the Municipality of Marmora and Lake and the Townships of Stirling-Rawdon and Tyendinaga.

The curbside battery collection for Quinte and area is scheduled to run from April 6 - 17, 2020.

Please visit the Quinte Waste Solutions website for more information.

Region of Peel

The Regional Municipality of Peel includes the City of Brampton, City of Mississauga and the Town of Caledon.

The curbside battery collection for the Region of Peel is scheduled to run from ~~April 13 - 24, 2020.~~

Please visit the Region of Peel website for more information.

Niagara Region

As the pioneer of the Curbside Battery Recycling program, Niagara Region proved that the Blue Box program could be effectively used as a platform to capture other types of designated waste, particularly those hard to manage wastes that are generated in small quantities by everyone - such as batteries.

Their foresight, vision and commitment to waste diversion transitioned this program from being a good idea into an Ontario made environmental success story.

The curbside battery collection for Niagara Region is scheduled to run from April 20 - 24, 2020.

Please visit the Niagara Region website for more information.

The Regional Municipality of Durham

Durham Region includes more than 190,000 homes serviced by curbside recycling throughout the Cities of Oshawa and Pickering, the Towns of Ajax and Whitby, the Municipality of Clarington and the Townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge.

The curbside battery collection for Durham Region is scheduled to run from April 20 - 24, 2020.

Please visit the Region of Durham website for more information.

Preparing your Batteries for Recycling

Most alkaline batteries that we use everyday do not require any special preparation before we store or recycle them, however some do. To reduce any risk of short circuit, please take precautionary measures by placing masking tape on the terminal ends when storing or recycling the batteries mentioned in the link below. Pay particular attention to all lithium batteries and any 9-volt batteries.

Learn how to prepare your batteries for recycling.

Recycling Sealed Lead Acid Batteries

Please note that sealed lead acid batteries are regulated under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (TDGA) and are not to be included in the curbside collection. To find a local drop-off location, please check with your municipality or visit www.makethedrop.ca

Fall Curbside Collection

Any Ontario municipality who participates in this program is eligible to receive an incentive back to help cover the costs of promotion and logistics.

Get in touch with us today to find out how your community can participate in this convenient program!

How do I recycle batteries year round?

If you miss your collection date or live in an area where the service is not provided, you can always find your closest Ontario recycling point by typing your postal code or city name into this handy search tool. There are over 4000 recycling points in Ontario for single-use batteries.

Lead Acid batteries like the type you would find in your car must be taken to a Municipal Hazardous & Special Waste Depot (MHSW) or returned to a participating retailer. To access a list of Ontario’s MHSW drop off points, please visit www.makethedrop.ca.

Stewardship Ontario

This program is made possible through the Stewardship Ontario Curbside Battery Recovery Incentive program.

Stewardship Ontario is the Industry Funded Organization that works with the battery manufacturers as well as other product stewards in the Province of Ontario.

Orange Drop is Stewardship Ontario’s public facing program that provides Ontario residents with a free, safe and easy way to dispose of products that require special handling.

For more information on the Orange Drop program and a list of other convenient recycling points for other hard to manage wastes, please visit www.makethedrop.ca

Raw Materials Company Inc.

The Battery Recycling Blog