what to do with found car batteries?

[+escondido100]

aloha from kona,

while searching for a cache that was damaged by the oct 15th earthquake and trying to find a spot to relocate it i stumbled across dozens of car and truck batteries in a ravine below a scenic view point. i would like to place a cache there but dont want to lead cachers past such a horrendous sight as it not representative of the hawaii i know...... my question is what should i do with them? i am willing to get a few other cachers together to haul em out ( a big chore) but once out what should i do with them? the landfill wont takem there is also a lot of tires scattered about.... the landfill wont take them either!!!! any ideas? thanks.

[TeamHeusinkveld]

Contact to your local recycle center or automotive parts shop.

Those places are your best chance to give rip old automotive batteries.

Also recycle center possible take care tires.

 

TeamHeusinkveld

[+BlueDeuce]

Be very careful. Assume the case is leaking battery acid and handle appropriately.

[+Bad_CRC]

sad that people do that kind of thing.

 

congrats for wanting to clean it up! I hope you are able to follow through.

[+Moore9KSUcats]

Do you have a local organization for disposal of hazardous products? You could contact them, explain the situation, and say that you are willing to gather a number of people to clean up the ravine, if they would provide the equipment needed to dispose of them properly.

 

Done correctly, your willingness to clean up an eyesore/environmental hazard will continue to give geocaching a good reputation. By spearheading the clean-up, you show that you, along with the local cachers, are trying to improve your environment, and are watching out for places that need help.

[Not So Lost Puppies]

If there is a batteries plus store around, they accept them for recycling (no, you don't need to buy one to drop one off) they should have a cart or rack near the door for them.

[+Bad_CRC]

after thinking about this, I don't think you should attempt to clean up the batteries without the help of the local hazardous recycling center.

 

batteries, especially batteries that have been sitting outside in the elements can be very dangerous, and cause severe injury, perhaps death.

 

You can do your part by making the authorities aware of the site, and persuing them to do something about it, but unless they say otherwise, don't move the batteries without proper protective equipment.

[+Rockin Roddy]

MOST large battery dealerships BUY the batteries back from you paying a small amount!! (usually a few dollars at most, but still not bad if you have a bunch of them). Yes, batteries DO leak, and the acid inside IS dangerous to a person or interior of a car! Best to have a truck and gloves, but they are safe enough to load up and clean out!!

 

I know this as I am co-owner of a golf course...we handle TONS of batteries out there. Just be careful not to touch metal to the posts of the batteries as there may be a bit of residual "charge" to any that are "newer" (or not have been there very long) batteries. UNLESS the battery in question looks VERY new, there is no real danger of it posing problems for you...old batteries shouldn't have a charge (that's why they were thrown out in the first place), so don't pose the chance of a discharge or "blowing up".

 

edit to add...MOST batteries that have been out for long periods of time pose VERY little threat to anyone, your only concern would be the leaking of the casing...but, if there is a crack or holes in the battery (or if it's been out for say, a few years), chances are that there isn't much (if any) acid left inside to worry about. NO, I wouldn't sit in back and picnic on them after a day of collecting them, and I would wash my hands etc after cleaning them up from an area, but they are mostly nothing more than trash that has lead in them. Proper protective equipment in most cases would be old clothes (blue jeans etc) and gloves...maybe a pair of overalls!!

Edited December 2, 2006 by Rockin Roddy

[+Prfctly Mad]

Here In Savannah there are a couple of places that will pay you for Old car batteries. Some of the places that sell used batteries will sometimes do that so they can re-condition them

[corc]

all automotive recyclers will buy them for a buck.

as the others have mentioned, it is dangerous to handle batteries that have been in the elements for long periods, Use gloves as well as rubber gloves over top of your gloves.

I work at an autowrecker, and to handle the batteries we have several pairs of Oven Mits,

yup oven mits..lol

you can always goto your local rent-it dealer and rent battery carrying clamps.

 

i comend you on wanting to clean the area up, but once people start getting into the habit of

disposing stuff in the outdoors, they dont tend to stop.

so you may find that there will always be more dumped after youve taken the effort to clean the area.

 

best bet would be to inform the local hazourdous waste branch.

and find a different spot for your cache..

 

hope it all works out ok for ya.

[+Bad_CRC]

would be ironic if there really was a place nearby that would pay for the batteries.

 

makes the person who dumped them there a double-idiot (in my opinion)

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

aloha from kona,

while searching for a cache that was damaged by the oct 15th earthquake and trying to find a spot to relocate it i stumbled across dozens of car and truck batteries in a ravine below a scenic view point. i would like to place a cache there but dont want to lead cachers past such a horrendous sight as it not representative of the hawaii i know...... my question is what should i do with them? i am willing to get a few other cachers together to haul em out ( a big chore) but once out what should i do with them? the landfill wont takem there is also a lot of tires scattered about.... the landfill wont take them either!!!! any ideas? thanks.

 

We would LOVE to visit Hawaii one day (myself and "Li" actually got to Tahiti a few years ago, but that was a prize she WON and Hawaii is about as far from here as you can go and still be in the same country), and what you are trying to do is the right thing and very noble, but I don't think people won't go to your cache about it. If we were in Hawaii and saw this we'd understand, even in "paradise" the locals are human and we know things like this happen. If the cache site itself and the general view is "beautiful" we'd "forgive" you.

Edited December 17, 2006 by HaLiJuSaPa

[+Right Wing Wacko]

The fact that they were dumped there leads me to believe that the rules and regulations in Hawaii make proper disposal expensive.

 

Here in WA... at least in my county, one can take a limited number of batteries to the local transfer station and dispose of them free. However larger quantities require a fee.

 

Car Batteries contain Lead and Sulphuric Acid... two substances that you don't want to be releasing into the environment. The dump needs to be cleaned up, but NOT by someone that does not know what they are doing. The simple act of trying to remove them may release large amounts of toxins.

 

While I hate to depend on government for anything, this is something that should probably be turned over to them. If the batteries are on public land, contact the land manager. Otherwise, perhaps local law enforcement or even the EPA!

[+Rockin Roddy]

I don't know about all that, and if you have any concerns by ALL means Do contact the proper authorities! I have removed literally HUNDREDS of batteries from our golf course (the previous owners had a nice battery PILE about 4' high behind the work barn), as long as you are careful NOT to get the liquids on you, you'll be good to go!! If the casings are already cracked or broke open, most likely the damage has already been done!!

 

As for the restrictions...nah, more than likely just some lazy people discarding of the batteries in the easiest way possible!! Like I said, they PAY for batteries around here, not sure of how things are done out that way!!

 

I wouldn't tell anyone to do something they aren't comfortable with, so deal with this as you see fit!!

 

Merry Christmas to all!!

[+Jennifer&Dean]

From googling I see that there may be a cost associated with recycling certain types of batteries in HI due to shipping costs. I guess they ship them to the continental US. Did find a HI Dept of Health info sheet at:

Car Battery info- pdf

 

Good luck!

-J

[+MissJenn]

escondido,

I do hope you post again and let us know what the news is from your part of the world.

 

Jennifer&Dean,

how come your "forum title" has such a different effect than mine does?

[+Jennifer&Dean]

escondido,

I do hope you post again and let us know what the news is from your part of the world.

 

Jennifer&Dean,

how come your "forum title" has such a different effect than mine does?

 

 

Do you think it is a Jennifer thing? Try wearing more black?

 

-J

[+welch]

If there is a batteries plus store around, they accept them for recycling (no, you don't need to buy one to drop one off) they should have a cart or rack near the door for them.

 

Yep, also check out out auto suppy stores, and farm/home stores. Someone around should be able to take them in. If the batteries are busted open it will be likely be more difficult to find someone to take them, since they're certainly leaking.

 

As for the tires... ask the landfill who/where does take them. They should know what the proper procedure is.

You might also consider contacting the owner of the land you want to clean up (somwhere in a park??). Maybe you can work out a deal with them so that you organize getting the junk out of the ravine and to a road/parking lot and they deal with it after that.

[+sbell111]

Call you local Napa store and see if they'll take them without charging you a fee.

[fobrnno]

scrap metal yard around me payes any were from $2 too $3 a battery and they don't care if the cases are broken cause they are after the lead that is inside them.

[+escondido100]

aloha...thanks so much for all your replies... i have been away for awhile and havent tackled this issue yet. i am sure that the batteries are still there........ all of your suggestions have been helpful..... hawaii is not quite in the 21st century....at least in the part where i live... i will do some checking and see where i can take these things....... most of them are cracked open..... they had to be tossed from a vist point off a 20 ft retaining wall to get where they lay. we have porous volcanic lava rock and i am sure all the toxins are leaching there way to the ocean only a few miles away..... paradise is only paradise for the tourists....live here awhile and you see this kinda thing all the time. i spend a lot of time in eco-friendly costa rica and if you travel as a tourist you get a warm fuzzy feeling about the environment there...spend a few weeks with locals and how they live you find out different......you always want to check out whats upstream before you swim and when the ocean is brown after a storm avoid the water.....any way i am leaning towards doing this little by little i dont think i can dispose of them any other way..... i need to get back up there and take some pics....when i do i will post em here for more ideas so you can see what i am up against.....

i will check with walmart, napa and the dump to see what they say

 

aloha and mahalo

[Col. Angus]

aloha...thanks so much for all your replies... i have been away for awhile and havent tackled this issue yet. i am sure that the batteries are still there........ all of your suggestions have been helpful..... hawaii is not quite in the 21st century....at least in the part where i live... i will do some checking and see where i can take these things....... most of them are cracked open..... they had to be tossed from a vist point off a 20 ft retaining wall to get where they lay. we have porous volcanic lava rock and i am sure all the toxins are leaching there way to the ocean only a few miles away..... paradise is only paradise for the tourists....live here awhile and you see this kinda thing all the time. i spend a lot of time in eco-friendly costa rica and if you travel as a tourist you get a warm fuzzy feeling about the environment there...spend a few weeks with locals and how they live you find out different......you always want to check out whats upstream before you swim and when the ocean is brown after a storm avoid the water.....any way i am leaning towards doing this little by little i dont think i can dispose of them any other way..... i need to get back up there and take some pics....when i do i will post em here for more ideas so you can see what i am up against.....

i will check with walmart, napa and the dump to see what they say

 

aloha and mahalo

[Col. Angus]

Heya kids, from Nashvegas.

 

About the batteries. I would contact a local govt. office. I don't know if Hawaii has public or private trash pick-up, but I would start there. See if the city will do their thing. If not, I would try a local official, they are always wanting votes and approvals. These 2 options will definately help with the huge financial cost of HAZMAT disposal. That is what this is, HAZMAT !! Hazerdous Materials, for those who did not know.

If this area is a park, well then, it is easy. Contact the park office, and ask them to have these items removed. If they seem unwilling, or flat out refuse, I would take a few pictures, and send those to a local paper. That's just the kinda guy I am.

 

Angus