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This is a wonderful effort that I hope IBM follow through with. This is an idea I have often thought of in my head on and off for years after seeing those batte
by DigitalSea 12y ago
This is a wonderful effort that I hope IBM follow through with. This is an idea I have often thought of in my head on and off for years after seeing those battery recycling stations, but obviously being one individual, can't really make a difference.
Such an effort could also make people more proactively recycle their old laptop batteries, something I know a lot of people don't take the time to properly do, opting to instead throw it out into the garbage bin instead because it is easier. Heck, if we could create a program where people are paid a few cents for every battery they recycle like you can with bottles and aluminum cans in a lot of places in the world, we would have more than enough batteries for such a plan to scale.
- mschuster91 12y agoGermany has such a program already in place for lead-acid car starter batteries, where you pay a deposit of €7.50 and get it refunded upon return. Might be a sensible idea for cellphone and laptop batteries, but I suspect that then thieves and other criminals will target cellphones for their batteries :(
- miahi 12y agoI think this is an EU environmental program, as you find this in other EU countries too, in the same way and about the same money.
- _delirium 12y agoThe Battery Directive is the general framework, though member states have some leeway in how they want to design programs in order to reach its recycling targets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Directive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Directive
- sdrothrock 12y agoI'd think that if you stole a cell phone, the cell phone itself would be worth more than the €7.50 deposit...
- mschuster91 12y agoNot these days, as iphones and Galaxy models can be remote-locked and rendered unrecoverable. You might only sell 'em for spare parts, but who does such ...?
- stonogo 12y agoThis is the case in the United States as well. When you buy a battery, you pay a "core charge" which is refunded when you return the old battery you're replacing.