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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Adithi Ramakrishnan

You can give old batteries a new life by safely recycling them

Climate Choices Battery Recycling - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

When household batteries die, it's hard to know what to do with them. So they get shoved into a junk drawer or sheepishly thrown into the trash.

But dead batteries aren't quite finished. They can leak heavy metals like cadmium and nickel into soil and water once they reach the landfill. Some of them can also overheat and cause fires in garbage trucks and recycling centers.

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