7 Responses

1. Yes, the dealer will take them.

2. Yes. They are highly toxic and very dangerous.

3. Pretty much any kind of battery can be recycled. It is more a matter of how easy it for the consumer to do. My guess is to sell cars the car companies will set up recycling facilities.

4. no its not true. THEY CAN be recycled.

   a battery is basically like a glass of water with a straw in it. instead of water, there are chemicals. and instead of a straw, there are metal plates. when the metal plates wear out, the battery will not hold its charge. so drain out chemicals, recycle plastics and metal, etc.

   people have been recycling lead acid batteries for a very long time. those are the batteries is gasoline cars and some electric cars. but the better, newer lithium-ion batteries are recyclable as well.

5. They are indeed recyclable. Here’s an example of a hybrid (Toyota Prius) and electric car (Tesla Roadster).

   “Q: Are hybrid batteries recyclable?

   GS: Absolutely. In fact, Toyota pays a bounty to dealers who recover them from damaged vehicles. Additionally, our engineers are studying the possibility of remanufacturing these batteries.”
   http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynergyview/2006/fall/battery.html

   “we are able to recycle about 60% of the ESS [electrical storage system = battery] materials and reuse a further 10% (by weight). We currently plan to landfill only the benign fluff, which comprises about 25% of the ESS, but we expect to nearly eliminate this in the future when our volumes get higher and we can justify the effort required to separate and reuse the plastic.”
   http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=66

6. all batteries are recyclable. the metals are 100% recyclable, the plastic in the cases are ground up and mixed with new plastic and thus is recycled. the electrolyte solutions are reconstituted and reused. these days very little goes to waste when recycling batteries.

7. yep dealers want them and will take them when the time comes