City residents have options for getting rid of old batteries
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on April 2, 2025.
Call2Recycle announced the launch of a battery recycling program across Alberta, which is being operated under the oversight of the Alberta Recycling Management Authority.LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
It’s a dilemma faced by Canadians and people around the world on a daily basis – what do you do with your dead batteries. Do you sneak them into a garbage container knowing full well you’re contributing to pollution? Or do you hoard them in a drawer because you don’t know what other options you might have?
Lethbridge residents are expressly prohibited from disposing of batteries – and devices that contain batteries – in their black garbage bins. Improperly disposed batteries can get crushed by equipment or come into contact with metal, potentially causing fires.
The City’s waste and recycling centre has a drop-off for batteries and other electronic items, but for those who feel driving that far is an inconvenience, other options are available.
On Tuesday, national consumer battery recycling organization Call2Recycle announced the launch of a battery recycling program across Alberta, which is being operated under the oversight of the Alberta Recycling Management Authority.
Call2Recycle calls the initiative “a significant step in expanding battery recycling across the province. This program will provide Albertans with over 1,100 battery drop-off locations in conveniently located retail stores, municipal facilities, public institutions and community centres. It aims to advance environmental sustainability and reduce our impact on the planet.”
According to website Recycle Your Batteries Canada!, batteries that end up in landfills can leak toxic substances, contaminating the environment, including water and soil. Rainfall can corrode batteries and carry their contents into stormwater systems, upsetting ecosystems and causing harm to humans as well as wildlife.
One website estimates that four billion AA alkaline battery cells are produced each year alone. Lithium batteries can be particularly volatile, causing landfill fires and releasing dangerous gases into the atmosphere.
An online locator tool at https://recycleyourbatteries.ca  can help residents find a drop-off location. At that site, residents can type in their postal code and a search engine will show drop-off locations. It shows 15 sites on all three sides of the city.
They include Rexall Lethbridge Crossings, the westside Save-On Food store, HearingLife Canada, Staples Canada, BikeLane (Mat’s Bike Repair), Princess Auto, Home Depot, Dr. Phone Fix Lethbridge, Best Buy, London Drugs, RONA, All-Tra Battery, Lowe’s, Communications Group and Canadian Energy & Power. All locations accept single-use and rechargeable batteries while BikeLane also collects eMobility batteries.
Last year, Call2Recycle says it collected more than 6.8 million kilograms of batteries across the country. It operates nearly 15,000 collection sites in Canada. Since it was started in 1997, Call2Recycle has diverted more than 50 million kilograms of batteries from landfills in this country.
“Expanding into Alberta is an exciting milestone for Call2Recycle as we continue our mission to enhance environmental protection and promote sustainable recycling solutions across Canada,” said Joe Zenobio, President and CEO of Call2Recycle in a Tuesday news release.
“We are proud to work on behalf of our members on this new program that makes battery recycling easier and more accessible for Albertans while reducing battery waste’s environmental impact and fostering a cleaner, more sustainable future.”Â
Under the program, single-use and rechargeable batteries weighing up to five kilograms each can be dropped off.
It’s suggested that battery terminals be covered with clear packing tape, electrical tape or duct tape and that brand name and chemistry on labels be left visible. Batteries requiring terminal protection include lithium, coin cell, small sealed lead acid and alkaline of nine volts or higher power. To avoid corrosion, it’s recommended that batteries be dropped off every three months. Bilingual Corporate Communications Manager Charles Antoine-Dubois said early Tuesday in an emailed response to a Herald query that Call2Recycle has operated in Alberta since 1997 as a voluntary program and has helped residents recycle nearly 2.3 million kilograms of used batteries.
After the recent introduction of the provincial Extended Producer Responsibility program, Call2Recycle has registered as an official Producer Responsibility Organization and is the only PRO approved by ARMA to recycle batteries in the province.
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All good ideas, but what do the receivers do with them. Do they get a fee for sending them somewhere?? Who recycles them. What does call2recycle do with them. Just a feel good story at this point.
thanks, al…not sure why the city/province have not made the collection of spent batteries a far easier thing to deal with for people; as well, with thanks to your writing here, places where they can be dropped off should also be very public.
just to note, where is the recycle of glass products in our city. many locations in our land have been accepting glass for a very many years.
buckwheat – thank you – puts some good queries to the battery issue. as has been the case with the likes of plastics, our recycling has amounted to having third parties ship them over seas to other countries that have no means to recycle them…and, worse, shipping them as far as the oceans only to dump the stuff there. so, are we to be certain the batteries will be recycled and that the toxic elements will not be returned to the environment?
Member when the Fire Department used to hook you up?