How Dead Old Batteries Contribute in Global Warming

Batteries may be small and seemingly harmless, but they can be the deadliest products not only to humans, but to the environment, too. Landfills get more than 15 billion batteries each year, and that amount is good enough to make a 466,000-mile long line, which can wrap around our plane 18 times. Unfortunately, batteries do not start poisoning our planet only when they are in the landfill. In fact, their manufacturing process typically emits a lot of greenhouse gases, which are some of the contributing factors for global warming. Hence, it is advisable to consume less batteries as we can and support recycling efforts for batteries.

The battery is one of the frequently disposed products. Once batteries are ‘dead’, they are considered useless and must be thrown away to prevent them from leaking. What most consumers do not know is that most dead batteries still have power in them, but many devices are unable to use that. In fact, only 20 percent of power from batteries is being used by electronic devices to run. New batteries are rated to have 1.5 volts, but that can deplete to 1.35 or 1.4 volts, or even lower, and that is when devices consider them dead, so we throw them away. Think about the number of times you need to change the batteries of a frequently used product like a flashlight or an entry-level digital camera, and you should be able to realize how much batteries you buy, consume, and dispose of per month, or even annually.

The more batteries you consume and the more batteries you throw away, the higher your carbon footprint will be. Hence, consider using a high-quality battery life extender or a battery life enhancer that is designed to tap into the remaining 80 percent power of supposedly dead old batteries. By using this type of product, you can minimize the need to frequently buy batteries and you can maximize the potential of old and new batteries alike.