Merced County launches free battery recycling program

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Merced County residents now have an easier way to dispose of batteries.

The regional waste authority has launched a free battery recycling program.

There are now more than 20 locations throughout Merced County where you can drop off used or old batteries.

Those include libraries, community centers, and city halls.

Cardboard boxes have been placed at participating sites, with tape for you to cover the terminal of each battery, and plastic bags to put them in upon drop-off.

Those involved with the program say it's important to keep batteries out of regular trash and recycle bins.

"When they're compressed and squished in the trash trucks, or when they make it to the landfill and they're driven over by all the heavy equipment out there," explained Mary-Michal Rawling with the Merced County Association of Governments.

"They actually cause fires, they can cause damage to equipment and threaten the lives of the workers that are there."

The battery recycling campaign is part of a pilot program that will last for the next three years.