Battery Campaign

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Batteries are ubiquitous in our daily lives but it’s not always clear how to dispose of them correctly. The amazingly convenient lithium battery holds a lot of power to keep our electronics charged for hours. Unfortunately, when damaged by improper handling or excessive heat, they also hold enough power to ignite unexpectedly and rapidly (up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit!). Too many of these lithium batteries end up in curbside recycling bins and pose a fire threat to drivers collecting the bins, recycling center operators, and the many sorting machines in the recycling center.To help spread awareness and educate the community of this danger, a battery campaign committee was formed within the Resource Conservation Division (RCD) at Boulder County. The committee designed original content for advertising, a logo, educational materials, social media posts, and outreach. We also hosted two free battery collection events on America Recycles Day where we collected thousands of pounds of batteries in just one day! The campaign was well-received, our campaign materials including a battery taping guide were shared with community partners, circulated at a national hazardous materials conference, and requested to be re-distributed by several other sectors and partners. In 2019, we collected 57,417 pounds of batteries, a 215% increase from 2018 collections.