Recycle your old cell phones and rechargeable batteries at Ballard Library starting Saturday

Ballard Library (5614 22nd Ave NW), and five other libraries in the Seattle Public Library Network, have partnered with Call2Recycle to collect cellphones and small rechargeable batteries from this Saturday, June 22 through Wedesday, June 26. The collection will run as a friendly competition to see which neighborhood will win the title of “Greenest Seattle Neighborhood”.

Collection boxes will be available at Ballard Library during regular opening hours. Collection boxes will also be available at Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Lake City, University and West Seattle branches. Locals are encouraged to not only drop off their old cell phones but recharegable batteries found in laptops and digital cameras.

“The Seattle Public Library is happy to be involved,” said Chance Hunt, the Library’s assistant director of community partnerships and government relations. “We’re excited to see how many batteries Seattleites can donate for recycling, and to find out which neighborhood truly is the greenest.”

The neighborhood whose box weighs the most will be awarded the title of “greenest in Seattle”. The official weighing ceremony will take place at Westlake Park on Friday, June 28, with the help of local celebrity John Curley. Click here to check out more details about the event.

Non-profit group Call2Recycle collects and recycles batteries at no cost for municipalities, businesses and consumers. Recycling batteries reduces landfill waste and removes potentially harmful heavy metals from the waste stream, preventing possible contamination of groundwater, soil and other natural resources.

So get out your old cell phones and rechargeable batteries and help Ballard win the crown!