| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| pookie |
batteries-new legislation.http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=8847&codi=78373 |
||||
| Treacodactyl |
That'll explain the box I saw in our local supermarket the other day, I expect supermarkets will lead the way.
I've not thrown a battery into landfill for years but it used to be very hard to find anywhere to take them other than local tips. |
||||
| sean |
I like the way they've changed 'damp squib' to damp 'squid' in the headline.
Pretty much everything that we've got that uses batteries has rechargeables in now. |
||||
| Tavascarow |
I imagine with the high cost of raw materials it wikll be profitable for the retailers to take them back anyway. | ||||
| jema |
Same here, I wonder just what people are buying non rechargeables for these days? |
||||
| vegplot |
A variety of reasons. Rechargeables simply don't have the initial discharge capacity of alkaline equivalents and this can be important for some applications. Rechargeables don't hold their charge as well as alkalines, which have a have a shelf life of around 4-5 years and for intermittently used applications alkalines can make better sense. |
||||
| Brownbear |
The AAA or AA rechargeable batteries that I've tried haven't been worth a mouthful of ashes. Almost no power, and flat as pancakes in minutes.
If anyone knows of some that aren't rubbish, I'd be delighted to know. |
||||
| JohnB |
I use them in both my digital cameras, and they last for ages. I've got several makes, all several years old now. |
||||
| Treacodactyl |
I made the mistake of buying a load of rechargeables several years ago and never found them much good. Being 1.2v compared to 1.5v for alkaline also causes problems, some appliances still tell you not to use them.
I could bin (well recycle) the rechargables I have and buy some modern ones I suppose but that sort of defeats the object of buying them in the first place. 
|
||||
| Tavascarow |
I use NiMh rechargables in my flashgun & although they don't last as long they are perfectly adequate for my purposes. Likewise in my LED headlight but LEDS don't draw much current anyway but I figure they work out a lot cheaper. |
||||
| vegplot |
As technology improves the argument for using use once alkalines diminishes. However, the environmental and initial CO2 costs offset the re-usability of rechargeables, which often use exotic chemical formulations to improve performance. It's not just about the cost to the consumer.
In days of yore alkalines used to have fairly high levels of mercury to ensure the zinc particles in the anode made good electrical contact with the electrolyte (a caustic gel). As the mercury levels were reduced the performance of alkalines fell, in some cases cells failed within hours of being used or large voltage fluctuations occurred. These problems were slowly overcome and today's alkalines are by and large extremely efficient devices with minimum environmental impact and are relatively easy to recycle. Rechargeables aren't quite there yet. I don't know how complex the ingredients are these days but I would wager their production has a much greater environmental impact compared to alkalines, offset by their ability to be re-used many times over. Performance is another matter and matching the power source to the application can be frustrating and inefficient especially in consumer goods. The 'best' battery technology I worked with was lithium sulphur dioxide, used in medical and military applications. Fantastic performance but very unstable and very dangerous if accidentally (or deliberately) reverse discharged or recharged. A very smelly pyrotechnic explosive. |
||||
| mark |
Rechargables work best in appliances which were designed for them because of slightly lower voltage!
Modern high capacity rechargables are excellent for uses where you use the appliance the day you put the battery in. However all rechargeables slowly lose charge when they are not being used. So if you have something you don't use for a few weeks and you want it to work fine when you next use it without checking the charge don't use rechargeables. But for that radio or camera you have with you and gets through batteries fast they are great. |