Consumers to lead the charge for recycling batteries on National Battery Day

North America's first and largest consumer battery stewardship organization, is encouraging consumers to lead the charge on the occasion of National Battery Day (February 18) by recycling their used batteries. The Lead the Charge on National Battery Day awareness campaign will run throughout the month of February.

National Battery Day is a date when organizations observe the importance of batteries and create awareness around how they make lives easier by providing convenient, portable power. The day commemorates the birth in 1745 of Italian physicist and pioneer, Alessandro Volta,who invented the battery.

"Batteries help power our daily lives and popular gadgets, but they don't last forever, so they should be recycled when they no longer hold a charge," says Linda Gabor, VP of Marketing and Customer Service at Call2Recycle. "We're pleased to join with our collection partners to promote National Battery Day and increase battery recycling across the North America."

Call2Recycle recently announced a record-breaking 5.7-million kilograms (12.6-million pounds) of batteries collected in 2015. This major environmental achievement marks the 19^th consecutive year the organization has generated a year-over-year increase (since collections began in 1996) in the volume of batteries diverted from landfills and recycled. Call2Recycle ensures that these items, which contain valuable resources, are responsibly recycled to create new batteries and other products, preventing potentially hazardous materials from entering the waste stream.

The organization partners with a vast network of collection partners, including retailers, businesses and municipalities to collect batteries and cellphones. Call2Recycle also works to educate consumers about the importance of battery recycling and the ease of doing so by finding a drop-off location in the network. 87 percent of both U.S. and Canadian residents live within 15 kilometers (10 miles) of one of Call2Recycle's drop-off locations.

Throughout February, Call2Recycle Canada, Inc. will invite consumers to join the Lead the Charge sweepstakes, and to recycle their batteries at a Call2Recycle drop-off site in Canada. The organization hopes the innovative campaign will expand consumer awareness and create excitement about battery recycling. Call2Recycle's collection sites will accept all types of household batteries (weighing up to 5 kilograms each), including both single-use and rechargeable batteries commonly found in laptops, digital cameras, game consoles, MP3 players, tablets and phones.