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Program aims to recycle 1 million pounds of gadget batteries by October

It isn't exactly time for spring cleaning, but the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. is encouraging you to look in your drawer or closet for unwanted rechargeable batteries for your mobile phone, laptop, MP3 players, power tools or digital cameras.
Written by Heather Clancy, Contributor

It isn't exactly time for spring cleaning, but the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. is encouraging you to look in your drawer or closet for unwanted rechargeable batteries for your mobile phone, laptop, MP3 players, power tools or digital cameras.

As part of its Call2Recycle program, being run in conjunction with DeWALT, Lowe's, Radio Shack and Staples, the non-profit organization is aiming to take another 1 million pounds of rechargeable batteries and unwanted mobile phones out of the waste stream by Oct. 1, 2010. Since 1996, the organization has collected close to 44 million pounds of rechargeable batteries.

This latest drive is meant as a consumer awareness campaign -- many people still don't realize that this stuff should be disposed of in a different way than regular old household waste. For perspective, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency estimates that only 10 percent of eligible mobile phones are recycled. Your community or business can also join the program collectively.

Between the places that I've listed about, there are about 30,000 different locations in North America where you can bring this unwanted technology.

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