The McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) will be accepting single-use alkaline batteries for recycling from Jan. 3 to Jan. 28 at the Division of Environmental of Health located at 667 Ware Road, Suite 110, in Woodstock.

Battery sizes AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt from residential sources will be accepted at no cost to residents. Only single-use, non-rechargeable batteries will be accepted during this event.

Batteries may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MCDH Division of Environmental Health located inside the McHenry County Administration Building. Masks are currently required in the building.

MCDH is unable to accept any other types of recyclable materials or waste during this recycling program. To recycle other types of batteries such as lithium-ion cell phones, laptops, rechargeable drills,  other small appliance rechargeable batteries, vehicles or etc., please review the McHenry County Green Guide for a list of recycling locations (fees may apply).

“We recycled 4,283 pounds of alkaline batteries during a similar event in January of 2021.  To visualize what that looks like, it is approximately 10- 55-gallon drums full of batteries,” said MCDH Environmental Health Solid Waste Manager Kelli Boeckmann. “That’s over 2 tons of material that we were able to divert from the sanitary landfill.”

All batteries collected during this event will be shipped to Battery Solutions in Wixom, Michigan. Battery Solutions is a U.S.-based battery recycler where batteries are separated by chemistry and recycled into materials like zinc and manganese concentrate, steel, paper and plastic. Recycling is an easy way to reduce waste from disposal in sanitary landfills, improve sustainability efforts and protect the environment. 

For more information, please visit the Solid Waste Program page or contact Solid Waste Manager Kelli Boeckmann at (815) 334-4585.