Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act
Other short titles
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act
The Battery Act
Long title
An Act to phase out the use of mercury in batteries and provide for the efficient and cost-effective collection and recycling or proper disposal of used nickel cadmium batteries, small sealed lead-acid batteries, and certain other batteries, and for other purposes.
In the United States, the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act (the Battery Act) (Public law
104-142)[1] was signed into law on May 13, 1996. The purpose of the law was to phase out the use of mercury in batteries and to provide for the efficient and cost-effective collection and
recycling, or proper disposal, of used
nickel cadmium batteries, small sealed
lead-acid batteries, and certain other batteries.
Effect
The intended objective of the Act was a reduction of heavy metals in municipal waste and in streams and ground water that resulted from the disposal of:
The sale of the first of these was banned (with the exception of the allowance of up to 25 mg of mercury per
button cell) and the second family of products was given specific labeling and disposal requirements.
As a result, most retailers who sell rechargeable and other special batteries will take the old ones back for free recycling and safe disposal.[citation needed] The not-for-profit
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), used by most retailers, reclaims the metals within the old batteries to make new products such as batteries (mercury, cadmium, lead) and
stainless steel (
nickel).[citation needed]
See also
Got Mercury?, a United States public awareness campaign about levels of the element mercury in seafood