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Recycling rechargeable batteries and gadgets is getting a lot easier, and that means a lot less lead, mercury and cadmium polluting the environment.

By JUSTIN ELLIS, Staff Writer January 14, 2008

With so many gadgets taking up a part of people's lives these days -- cell phones, digital cameras, portable media devices -- your fortunes can be won or lost by the blinking battery power indicator.

Rechargeable batteries make up the backbone of much of the personal technology people use in everyday life from home to the office. But once these devices and their batteries have outlived their usefulness or been replaced, most people face a conundrum -- tuck the gadget somewhere or throw it away.

While holding on to an old cell phone or camera battery just increases household clutter, electronics and batteries thrown in the trash can pose risks to the environment.

States have made strides to find proper ways to dispose of larger electronics like computers, VCRs and TVs.

Now, a push from within the electronics industry and several states, including Maine, has made it easier for consumers to recycle their rechargeable batteries.

This month Maine became the third state in the nation to enact a law creating free cell phone and cell phone battery recycling. The law also makes it illegal to throw out old phones and batteries.

The new law requires cell phone retailers to accept old phones and batteries for free, regardless of where they were purchased. The batteries are handled through an organization called the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. The nonprofit company also accepts rechargeable batteries from other devices and appliances, which in many cases can be accepted at retailers such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot, or through municipalities.

Alan Hillman, who owns several Wireless Zone cell phone stores in southern Maine, said most people don't know what to do with their old phones and other gadgets, so they just keep them.

Hillman says he created a donation program for old phones prior to the state law for that reason.

"There's really a lot of people who have a ton of these phones," he said. "It's an electronics item, so it feels kind of funny throwing them out."

But Hillman suspects that consumers are also becoming more conscious of their individual impact on the environment.

Maine has been slightly ahead of the curve in its efforts to deal with the disposal of electronics.

In 2004, a state law made manufacturers share the cost and responsibility for the disposal of items like TVs and computer monitors.

Rechargeable batteries can contain some of the same hazardous ingredients, including lead, mercury or cadmium, that while not dangerous when in use, can cause harm to the environment if thrown away.

Through June of 2007, the state had recycled almost 6 million pounds of TVs and computer monitors, according to Carole Cifrino, who oversees electronic waste for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Some businesses already offer battery recycling programs, but the new law mandates that businesses offer the service free to customers and partner with an organization that can collect the cell phone batteries.

"It's a first step," she said. "I think people in Maine are generally thinking about recycling now."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a similar "e-- cycling" program that partners with national companies such as Best Buy, LG Electronics, AT&T, Wal-Mart and Dell Computers to recycle computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronics.

According to the EPA, in 2007 more than 47 million pounds of electronics were reused or recycled.

The EPA estimates the amount of greenhouse gas not released into the air would be equivalent to keeping roughly 32,000 cars off the roads annually.

Cell phone retailers, electronics chains and other businesses use organizations such as the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. to reuse old batteries.

The organization sends retailers customized boxes for batteries and cell phones, which are then shipped to service centers to be processed, said Norm England, CEO of the Rechargeable...