AAA/CAA GREAT BATTERY ROUNDUP® FAST FACTS 2008 AAA/CAA Leads Battery Recycling Efforts

• Failed batteries account for a combined total of more than five million road service calls each year to AAA and the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In order to better serve members, the association launched a mobile battery service in North America. More than two million member vehicle disablements have been resolved by the installation of a new battery.
• Each year more than 100 million automotive lead-acid batteries are sold in the United States. Approximately 97 percent of all the lead in spent lead-acid batteries is recyclable, yet it is estimated some five million batteries are not recycled each year. AAA/CAA clubs sponsor battery collections called the AAA or CAA Great Battery Roundup® to help raise awareness about battery recycling.
• 2008 will be the eighth year AAA and Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) clubs have recycled batteries, netting a combined total of more than two million batteries collected and recycled by AAA/CAA clubs.
• An estimated 800,000 vehicle batteries will be sold this year as part of the association’s mobile battery replacement solution in North America.
• Lead-acid batteries are essentially boxed electricity, and proper handling is important because batteries may cause injuries. Because they can emit hydrogen gas, one should never smoke near a battery or expose it to an open flame; and anyone handling a battery should wear protective eyewear and gloves.
• Because battery failure is a significant and frequent inconvenience to motorists, AAA/CAA clubs use specially equipped vehicles driven by technicians who are extensively trained to test, diagnose and solve battery problems. The AAA/CAA battery technicians use state-of-the-art equipment to test battery and automotive charging systems, boosting partially discharged batteries, or installing a replacement battery if requested. Failed batteries are collected by the technicians and quickly returned to a recycling plant.
• An automotive battery, also referred to as a lead-acid battery, is a wet cell battery, which contains about 21 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and one gallon of sulfuric acid. When a spent battery is recycled, all of these elements can be reclaimed and reused in new batteries.
• The lead-acid battery industry was an early innovator of "closed loop" recycling and remains a leader in this efficient, economical process. Closed loop recycling reclaims the materials from spent products and uses the reclaimed materials in the production of new products.
• Lead-acid batteries have three major components: lead, acid and plastic. When a battery is recycled, here’s what happens to all three materials:
  • At least 97 percent of the lead in an automotive battery can be reclaimed and used to manufacture a new battery. The lead is recycled and reused indefinitely.
  • The sulfuric acid can be recycled and used in new batteries; it can be neutralized, purified and tested before being released as clean water; or it can be converted to sodium sulfate, a product used in fertilizer, dyes and other products.
  • Most battery cases are black because the cases have been made from plastic recycled from spent battery cases. When various colors are melted together, they become black.
• Lead-acid batteries are considered to be hazardous material. Since the battery industry developed the infrastructure to recycle them, the EPA allowed the regulations to be changed in 1985 so that the industry could collect spent batteries for recycling. Lead-acid battery recycling laws have been passed in 43 states in the United States. Most laws require buyers of new lead batteries to turn in spent batteries at the time of purchase, or pay a deposit.
• Lead costs are on the rise, so recycling spent batteries not only protects the environment but it also reclaims valuable lead and plastic for manufacturing, saving energy and money on raw materials.

Sources: AAA, Club Assist International, Battery Council International, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.