Eu mandates battery recycling

[LiberalEsto]

BBC:

"The European Union has agreed the text of a law that will make recycling of batteries obligatory from 2008. The directive will ban most batteries with more than a trace of the toxic chemicals cadmium or mercury.

It says a quarter of all used batteries must be collected by 2012 - rising to 45% by 2016 - and that at least half of them must be recycled. It also says all batteries must be clearly labelled to show how long they will last, from 2009 onwards."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4969544.stm

Why is the U.S. not doing this? We use an incredible number of batteries, which get dumped into landfills and leach mercury and cadmium into the ground.

When I lived in New Jersey, my town (Somerset - Franklin Township) collected used batteries during weekly curbside recycling pickups. We put them into self-sealing plastic bags on top of the other recyclables. When we moved to Maryland, I called Montgomery County and asked if they recycled batteries. They don't, and they don't know what you should do with them.