Partially consumed AA batteries - any use?

[Jaguar Fan]

I have probably a hundred or so AA batteries (non-rechargeable) that test at maybe 1 volt (instead of the 1.5 volts of a new AA battery). Mostly Costco Kirkland brand with a few Duracell tossed in. They don't have enough volts left for my handheld remote controls (e.g., TV, etc).

Is there any use for them? Or do I just take them to a battery recycling center?

 

[BillK]

If they only show 1 volt with a meter and no load, they are probably junk. As soon as you put a load on them the voltage probably goes down to nothing. Send them to recycling.

 

[TuxThePenguin]

1 volt is too dead to use.

You can't really drop them to 0v in any effective way if that's what you were thinking about. If you stick a low value (high load) resistor across them for a couple years, even then I doubt they'd read 0v afterwards.

 

[cybrdyke]

LED flashlights.

 

[ttpete]

I ended up buying rechargeable AAs and a charger for my remotes. Saves money in the long run.

 

[nadogail]

Believe it or not, they are hazardous industrial waste.

 

[Git]

Believe it or not, they are hazardous industrial waste.

Well, put me in the don't believe it category...

 

[rburke65]

See.....ya learn something every day on this site

 

[nadogail]

Well I happen to be living in California where a quantity of used batteries is considered to be a hazardous waste.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

harmful or not, i save them and drop them off at e-waste disposal with the rest of my e-waste

BTW i went the rechargeable route too for AA, AAA and 9V. I do keep alkaline AA, AAA, and 9V on hand for emergencies and devices i dont use rechargeables in. But rechargeables sure do save me money

 

[Git]

Well I happen to be living in California where a quantity of used batteries is considered to be a hazardous waste.

I am in California also - isn't everything in California considered to be either hazardous or cancerous?

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

If they don’t drive a remote, I don’t think they would be capable of operating much else. Time to recycle.

 

[Ls1Lark]

Would they power a wall clock or a wireless computer mouse ?

 

[sparky 1971]

I throw them in a dumpster. The same dumpster that I throw old florescent tubes and ballasts in. I use the ballasts to make sure the tubes are broken. If I were in CA., I think I would try to use someone else's dumpster though.

 

[dogdog]

there is that easy batter joule thief that you can build and use it to power an led until it is completely drained then throw it to the land fill ... probably a useless project but probably fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule_thief

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I throw them in a dumpster. The same dumpster that I throw old florescent tubes and ballasts in. I use the ballasts to make sure the tubes are broken. If I were in CA., I think I would try to use someone else's dumpster though.

well thanks for polluting.

tubes have mercury in them and the ballasts, if real old, have PCBs in them.

Are you too lazy to take them to hazard disposal? come'on

 

[sparky 1971]

Your welcome. Not too lazy, too cheap. I am already paying someone to take my trash (dumpster), why pay even more for special trash that I have to deliver? Make it free and convenient and I may consider recycling. Besides that, everything in those tubes came from the earth in one way or another, it's just getting returned.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

there is that easy batter joule thief that you can build and use it to power an led until it is completely drained then throw it to the land fill ... probably a useless project but probably fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule_thief

I may try that. I'm a fan of useless projects.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

There is a very convenient recycle center close to me; they sort/recycle each of the types of plastic, wine bottles & other glass, styrofoam (but not peanuts), cardboard, paper, electronics, etc etc etc etc. They take batteries as well.

This recycle center is a non-profit co-op. I don't know where it all ends up - it isn't like Republic Services or Waste Management Inc that picks up at your curbside and frequently just ends up in landfill anyway. I take my used household batteries there; it is convenient and it makes me feel good.

I'll take my used batteries there.

Thank you to everyone who chimed in - there isn't any practical use for the partially consumed batteries.

 

[Terry D]

well thanks for polluting.

tubes have mercury in them and the ballasts, if real old, have PCBs in them.

Are you too lazy to take them to hazard disposal? come'on

From my understanding, as long as the fluorescent tubes have green ends on them, they are ok in the trash. The older ones, I agree with you, they have the bad **** in them

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Your welcome. Not too lazy, too cheap. I am already paying someone to take my trash (dumpster), why pay even more for special trash that I have to deliver? Make it free and convenient and I may consider recycling. Besides that, everything in those tubes came from the earth in one way or another, it's just getting returned.

Who said anything about paying? I drop it off for free at the state e-waste facility in our county.

BTW PCBs dont just come out of the earth. PCBs are not found in the earth in that form. They are toxic man-made chemicals

 

[thymer]

ammunition for tailgaters.... just sayin'

 

[javyLSU]

LED flashlights.

This is what I do with mine. I have some of those Ikea motion activated LED closet lights, and they will work with AA batteries all the way down to about .6 volts. Any depleted AAs go into those lights, and I usually get at least 6 months of life out of them.

 

[gungatim]

Would they power a wall clock or a wireless computer mouse ?

wall clock no, but they will usually power a mouse, I use half dead ones from clocks in my mouse until they die all the time.

 

[txvwnut]

ammunition for tailgaters.... just sayin'

Especially if you ride a bike.

 

[mc4life27]

Well, put me in the don't believe it category...

Oops lol I’m in California they get tossed out all the time. I know places have the drop of points. But come really I don’t know too many people who keeps their old batteries aside and wait to go to HD or Lowe’s for example and then remembers to grab them when they go. Plus I don’t want to mix them up with the good batteries either. Stupid California I bet in the near future they are going to start issues bubble wrap from everyone to wear and full blown hazmat suits to wear think it will stop the possible cause of cancer and what not. Like coffee but then they will realize the suits cause cancer. Let me say this. Living causes cancer. We are all going to die at some point. I would rather have fun and enjoy life and live till 65-75 then live in a bubble and live a miserable life till I’m 100. I need to move. I’m sick of this place.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[alfredeneuman]

If they die in the middle of the night, although un-rechargeable, I put them on a charger....and they will charge up enough that I can use them until I have a chance to buy new ones.

 

[engineer2]

My DVOM has a battery test function. If the voltage keeps dropping, in the trash they go. Under 1V they get, ahem, recycled. 1.1 to 1.4V goes for the wife's decorative LED lights. She has lots of them.

 

[Citation]

I use them in my computer mouse. The mouse seems to be able to squeeze the last bits of power out of any battery.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I checked the recycling page for my city. They used to accept regular non-rechargeable batteries for recycling, but they now say to throw them in the regular trash. Rechargeable batteries are different and need to be disposed of at a specific facility.

 

[Ralf11]

Believe it or not, they are hazardous industrial waste.

they used to be haz waste but have been cleaned up for the last 2-3 years or so

 

[Toxictom]

From my understanding, as long as the fluorescent tubes have green ends on them, they are ok in the trash. The older ones, I agree with you, they have the bad **** in them

The green tipped fluorescent tubes contain something that binds the mercury so they test below the EPA threshold which makes them non-hazardous. They still contain mercury but in lesser amounts than older style bulbs.

 

[ZX3ST]

Who said anything about paying? I drop it off for free at the state e-waste facility in our county.

BTW PCBs dont just come out of the earth. PCBs are not found in the earth in that form. They are toxic man-made chemicals

I can't say this is common, but where I live in MO, the nearest place that will take fluorescent tubes is a 40mi drive (one way, and I am in no way living in the sticks) and they charge you $1.00 per tube to take them.

There are places like Home Depot and Lowes that will take CFLs (and I'm pretty sure it's free) but they will not take tubes.

When recycling costs one a 2hr quest and more money than the purchase of new bulbs, I can see why people smash them up in their normal trash bin.

 

[Copymutt]

The save the world contingency used to have battery collection drops all over town. I was known at those locations as “the battery guy”. Consider the majority of under 50’s replace their batteries when a device hiccups. I’d show up and dump the collection container into a box and thank the retailer. They thought I was the collection rep.

Set up a rolling assembly line at the garage table for a quick ck. of voltage per battery. Two boxes on the floor. One for those below 1.5v & one for those above. AAA & AA took no time at all to reject or save. I would return the low voltage batteries to another collection site. Want to do the right thing This was circa 2005. I’m still working off batteries supplied by ignorants.

PS. AA batteries slide right inside a 10’ length of 1/2 copper pipe. Resulting in approx. 75vdc for new or 65vdc for depleted to 1.3V batts. Ground one end w/ a copper cap and install a 2 wire output on the open end. They may be useless in & of themselves but lots of juice when added together.
The world is full of waste & suckers do to ignorance. Life’s tough, it’s more so when you’re ignorant.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I can't say this is common, but where I live in MO, the nearest place that will take fluorescent tubes is a 40mi drive (one way, and I am in no way living in the sticks) and they charge you $1.00 per tube to take them.

There are places like Home Depot and Lowes that will take CFLs (and I'm pretty sure it's free) but they will not take tubes.

When recycling costs one a 2hr quest and more money than the purchase of new bulbs, I can see why people smash them up in their normal trash bin.

My state has collection centers in almost every county. 10min drive and they take everything.

We also have quite a few e-waste facilities that take everything but tubes and batteries

The recycling yards will take ballasts that dont have PCBs

 

[ZX3ST]

My state has collection centers in almost every county. 10min drive and they take everything.

We also have quite a few e-waste facilities that take everything but tubes and batteries

The recycling yards will take ballasts that dont have PCBs

Yep I'm with you. Just wanted to throw it out there that not everywhere is the same.

I'm not saying it's right, but when trying to be responsible becomes "are you kidding me?"...... I can't really fault someone too much. There are practical (and principle) limits to everything.

In my case the recycling centers in question are only open 9-3 M-F. When I have to take off work and pay them that much to take bulbs, I'm sorry, I'm not terribly ashamed of my disposal methods.

I'd bet sparky 1971 is in a similar situation to mine.

 

[alfredeneuman]

In the days when the T-12 was king before the EPA was so involved we had a method for fluorescent tube disposal at our shop.
A 30 gallon drum with a hole in the lid and a funnel on top, and paddle below that hooked up to drill motor. We threw the contents into the dumpster every once in awhile

 

[sparky 1971]

Who said anything about paying? I drop it off for free at the state e-waste facility in our county.

BTW PCBs dont just come out of the earth. PCBs are not found in the earth in that form. They are toxic man-made chemicals

About 8 years ago I was hired by a lighting retro company to convert about 200 four lamp T12 troffers to T8. All I supplied was labor and a license. The man in charge of the operation told me it cost him about $1.00 per tube to recycle. That is why I recycle them right into my dumpster. Anyway, it's ok to throw broken tubes away. They are always broken, but it may be after I have tossed them in the dumpster.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

About 8 years ago I was hired by a lighting retro company to convert about 200 four lamp T12 troffers to T8. All I supplied was labor and a license. The man in charge of the operation told me it cost him about $1.00 per tube to recycle. That is why I recycle them right into my dumpster. Anyway, it's ok to throw broken tubes away. They are always broken, but it may be after I have tossed them in the dumpster.

Doesnt cost a cent here. Must vary by state

 

[HS2]

Used AA batteries are very useful. You can use them to throw at the lazy teenager who won’t listen, you can use them to jam in the toolbox lid to hold it open, you can use to fill up the mouse holes in the wall, or glue them together to make a redneck chandelier that you sell on eBay. Lots of uses.