The Ultimate Guide To Laptop Battery Disposal

However, due to the hazardous materials such as heavy metals, lead or acid contained in batteries, they need to be properly stored and cared for before disposing them to minimize the risk of fire and environmental pollution. If batteries are thrown out with the regular garbage, they can jeopardize the ecological integrity of both landfills and incinerator emissions.

There are several methods of disposing batteries, depending on the type of batteries and their uses. Batteries can be disposed in appropriate recycling facilities, hazardous waste facilities, or at designated drop-off sites in your community.

 

There are two types of batteries:

 

(1) primary – batteries that cannot be reused

(2) secondary (rechargeable) - batteries that can be reused.

Primary Batteries

 

Come in different sizes, and they primarily power elementary battery-operated devices like remote controls or toys. They are mostly made of non-hazardous materials and therefore can be disposed of directly into your regular trash.

Examples:

• Alkaline batteries mostly found in smoke detectors, remotes and wall clocks. These batteries can be safely and properly disposed of with normal household waste.

• Button batteries are mostly used to power simple gadget like watches. However, they must be disposed of with care since they contain silver oxide, lithium, mercuric oxide, or zinc-air, which are hazardous materials. They should be disposed in a hazardous waste collection site or recycling facility due to the heavy toxic substances they contain.

Rechargeable batteries

 

Contain hazardous materials like cadmium and nickel sealed up inside. These materials can pose environmental threats if not handled properly and are carelessly thrown in incinerators or landfill. They are best disposed of in a hazardous waste collection site, recycling facility, or an electronics retailer that recycles batteries.

 

Examples:

• Lithium batteries primarily power electronics such as laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones. These batteries can be disposed in a recycling center or hazardous waste collection site, or donated to refurbishes and recyclers.

• Nickel metal hydride and nickel-cadmium batteries are found in electronics such as cordless power tools, digital cameras, two-way radios, and cordless phones. It contains heavy metals that are can be hazardous to the environment. They are best disposed of in a hazardous waste collection site or recycling facility.

• Small sealed lead acid batteries are uncommon in homes and are found in emergency devices, emergency exit signs, security systems, mobility scooters, and other special-use items. They are best disposed of in a hazardous waste collection site, recycling facility, or an electronics retailer that recycles batteries.

Your Battery Disposal options:

 

The correct procedure for disposing of different types of batteries may vary significantly by region. It is therefore essential to check the websites of your state for detailed guidelines in your neighborhood. You should be able to find appropriate hazardous waste disposal and recycling facilities near by. You can also find hazardous waste collection programs or scheduled events that will allow you to safely dispose of your old batteries.

Top 5 Laptops with Best Batteries

We’ve gone past the era when laptops used to last just 2 hours and at best, maybe 5 hours. In today’s tech world, we have laptops lasting for as long as 15 hours, and if you have come all this way, you’ll know how much of a big deal that is.

Whoever you are, a businessperson, an office worker, a gamer, a traveler, or programmer. We all need laptops that can both conveniently do all our daily tasks and still give us some extra juice to enjoy a few hours of Netflix.

In this review, we will be highlighting the 5 most outstanding laptops with the best battery life. Although, I won’t dive much into their specs, but I’ll let you know which ones are best for your line of work.

I must also mention that gaming laptops didn’t make it to this list, but if you want to see the gaming laptops with the best battery life, click here.

Shall we?

 

LG Gram 15

 

Coming in as our number one is the LG Gram. The battery of this laptop will see you through the whole day, lasting for 13 hours and 58 minutes. We could as well call it 14 hours. This laptop will take you from 8AM in the morning to 10pPM at night without a recharge, if that’s not mind-blowing, I don’t know what is.

It weighs 2.5 pounds, making it extra light and portable. The design is also great except for its bouncy screen when you touch it. And yes, it’ll cost you a small fortune of $2000. The ideal laptop for businesspersons, writers, designers, and travelers.

 

Asus Novago

 

The Asus Novago, asides having a strong name, it also lasts long enough to get you through the day’s task. I know you’re thinking, “it’s a gaming laptop that lasts long,” but I’m sorry to break it to you that it’s just a business laptop. It lasts for 13 hours and 12 minutes thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. It packs power for everyday tasks but won’t do well in gaming because its processor doesn’t support several top-notch games.

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

 

Lenovo, the king of business laptops. Lenovo is at it again with the stellar ThinkPad X1 Carbon, built to take a full day’s work and still leave enough juice to play around on YouTube or Netflix. The battery of this laptop lasts for 13 hours and 7 minutes, which is enough to get you through the busiest of days.

Another reason we love this laptop is because of its enhanced privacy features such as the webcam shutter and finger-print scanner. When it comes to privacy, you can bank on Lenovo.

 

LG Gram 14

 

Yes, another LG flagship makes it to our top 5 list. The LG Gram 14, a predecessor of the Gram 15, is also a power-packed system. It’s sleek, slim, and still has full-sized USB ports and an HDMI port, which is impressive for its size. The battery will take 12 hours and 35 minutes before you’ll need to recharge. It also comes with a stylus pen, which is handy for creatives, but the downside side is it lacks storage space for the stylus pen.

 

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro

 

Lastly, the last on our list is the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro. It lasts 12 hours, 5 minutes. It would have made it to the top 3 if they’d paid more attention to its design. Overall, it’s a laptop that can handle basic day to day tasks without any hassle.

What happens to broken Laptop when it is Recycled?

Have you ever wondered what happens to the laptop that you gave up for recycling? Well, I have, and after some research, I found out the process is actually quite fascinating. Let us check out how it is done, shall we?

 

Main steps in the recycling process:

• Sorting and Transportation

• Dismantling

• Meltdown

• Eliminating hazard

• Shredding

• Reuse

Sorting and Transportation

After you take your damaged or old electronic to a recyclable items collection center or recycle bin. The Regional recycling sorts the electronics into portions, then transport them to a recycling plant.

Dismantling

The workers at the plant break up the electronics into different components by hand to ensure essential categorization.

Meltdown

The separated components are broken down into their raw forms like glass, plastic, and precious metals such as gold and aluminum.

Hazard

Some materials like Mercury and Lead are considered dangerous to the environment and human health. These materials are specially handled to ensure the safety of the workers and the environment.

Cathode ray tubes (CRT) found in older CRT screens have Phosphorus which are considered as hazardous. The Phosphorus coating is removed before the tubes are processed for recycling.

Shredding

The bulk of the electronic components that have been separated into units are put through huge shredding machines, before going through another separation process.

Meltdown

The metals are melted down after separation and refined to improve their quality.

Reuse

These broken down and refined commodities are sent back into the manufacturing chain as raw materials. The materials are then made into a variety of new products.

Why should I recycle my electronics?

E-waste is the term used to describe electronic devices that have reached the end of their useful life. This includes a bunch of electronic products from a computer processing unit (CPUs) to small smartphones. When E-wastes are not recycled properly, they have a terrible effect on the environment and human beings too. This is why it is important to dispose of your E-wasted to an R2 certified recycling facility.

Most electronics, including computers, contain elements and materials that are toxic to humans and the environment when accumulated in large quantities. These toxic materials include Lead, Zinc, Nickel, Flame retardants, Barium, and Chromium. Lead is the big bad wolf that has been known to cause damage to the kidneys, blood, and the nervous system of humans when released into the environment.

Also, when these E-wastes get hot, they release chemicals into the air that destroys the ozone layer.

What can I do to help?

You shouldn’t just give your E-waste to just any recycling facility. Many electronics recycling companies do not dispose of those products properly. Some of them ship these items to developing countries and sell them as scrap, or do the recycling in their countries. This causes dangerous chemicals to be piled up in countries that have no means of disposing of them properly.

Therefore, you should make sure the recycling facility you choose is R2 certified for proper recycling and disposal. These recyclers do not dump their products in different countries; they treat them properly.